The daily gazette., 1879-10-14
From the Lancaster Intellisencer.
Stars and Star Groups

Stars and Star troups.
Second Lecture Of the Y N. G.
A. WisteS Course.
THE NORTH STAR-CIRCUMPoLA CON
sTELLATIONs-P POINTERs--DIsTAN-
CEs AND COLOR--zODIACALC CoNsTEL-
LATIoNs-THE MILKY wAY-NEBU-
LIE, ETC.
The lecture on the fixed stars and con-
stellations by Mr.. j. p. McCaskev, prin-
cipal Of the boys high school, before the
Young Mems Christian Association last
evening, was largely attended. The
subject Is most interesting one, and the
facts presented are Of nature to deeply
impress the thoughtful reader. The
lecturer used the blackboard and charts
in Illustration of some Of the points
presented. As aids to parties who might
wish to know more Of the individual
stars and CONSULTATIONS he recommend
ed Burrltt's Geography of the Heavens
amt Whitha is planisphere, the latter
enabling one to learn almost at glance
the conste llatiOns above the horizon at
any hour OF the DAY or night. He aiso
urged those interested to r. ad the works
of the astrOmer Mitchell and the Popuu
lar Astronomy of Prof. Newcomb, moi .
recently published. The following is
a full report of this second lecture up
on
OUR OWN AND OTHER STELLAR sYs-
TENS.
Everybody knows the North Star.
| Certainly, everybody who has been
much upon the water or who has lived
npon, or had occasion to cross pathless
deserts or broad praries, and has needed
some one point amid all the moving S ars
that should be fixed and sure, by which
10 guide his course. you would search
in vain for an Arab in the Eastern, or
an Indian in the western continent, or
for hunter or guide, seaman or pilot, in
all the Northern hemisph-r', who does
not know the Polar Star. Each # tht sc
men need it. 1t enters into his life, be-
coming an impor factor in his life
experience. Whatever elss is changing
that is apparently fixed, imlnovable,
pivotal pOint about which, or upoI
ahicb, revolves the vast hollow shel
"st,,dded W tn golden fires."
Why should this one star be fxet
while all the rest are describing curve
greater or less according to their dis
lance from it az a centre of motion
The truth is, all the stars, equally witt
| the North Star, are at such immens
distances from our solar system, as, de
spite their enormous velocities, to b
practically fixed stars. For. II OIL
earth h,d no motion either upon its axl
or in its orbit, they would never be SEE
to rise nor set, nor would any const-lls
ton be perceptibly changed in appear
ance in thousands of years. The M
tions which they now but SEEM TO hd'
! are wholly dependent upon the two I'M
tions of the earth, the first upon its ak
and the second around the sun. III
first, from west to east, gives us the al
parent rising and setting of the sun, Il
planets and the stars-all seeming
rise in the east and set in the west.
The earth being spherical in shape,
axis always inclined at the same ang
to the plane of its orbit-which orbit
practically obliterated by the immen
distance At which the stars are placed
and the stars being .'fixed," there mu
be one point In the northern heave
and another in the southern in dire
line with this axis. If, at either Of the
points there be a star, it will be pol
star, di, ectly over the pole, whose po
ton will, for ages, remain unchanged,
our little earth spin upon its axis WI
'e what velocity it may.
Our present North Star-whlch
Arabs named Alruccahab, the Gree
Cynosure, and the Romans Polaris-
with n a degree and half of Chis tr
uole and hence in the round OF the ye
il really describes a circle whose dian
ter is three degrees. Around this st
- in one direction and another from 1t, 8
ranged the circumpolar constellation
the Great Bear,the Little Bear, the ID
gon, Cepheus and Casslop9ia.
In the Great Bear-which, by straI
coincidence, or perhaps because OF
IL common ancestry, was so named both
the earliest Arabs of Asia and the
auois Indians of North America, we hs
the most conspicuous star group of
circlmpolar heavens, the Great Dipp
This is also known in Europe as IN
less Wain," and 1.-The Plough" WI
ever besides he may not know, eve
body knows this figure, for by the aid
. the Pointers, the last two stars in
bowl, he can always determine
North Star, some twenty-eight degr
- distant.
This group is now to be seen in
northwestern sky. Its seven stars
all bright, and are named as follows,
ginning with the first in the hand
. Benetna>h, Mizar, Alioth, Megrez, Ph
Merak, aud Dubhe, the last two be
tue Pointers. Mizar has near it Y
smal, star, known as Alcor. which, i
said, the Arabs use as test for eyesle
and which, Humboldt tells us, is not 81
in Europe.
~ The little Dipper Is figure easily &
tinRu.she,I, although less conspicuous
the heavens, only three OF these icy
stars being Of marked brilliancy. Th
are the North ar in the extremity
d. the handle, and the last two stars in
howl. named Kochab and Pherk
which are known rs the Guards. kocl
may be- recognized as making nearly
e0uilateraI triangle; with Benetnash !
pubhe. Halfway between Pherkad
ls Nizar is Thuban, which WAS the \
ar. at the time the Great Pyramid v
built. more than 4 600 years ago.
The Dragon is i'll this quarter OF
heavens, living party between the I
dinners. Extending a line northw;
from Affair, in the Eagle, through W
e.,lr. hn