Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1880-02-07
QUE LOCAL ASTRONOMERS.
EIGHTH MEETING OF STAR CLUE.

Crowded House-The Lion" Tho sickle"
Cancer, the Crab-Bee Hive Nebula-Hy-
dra-" The Lone One''-" EgyptiOn X''
The Zodiac-Plant Ciub-Lecture, etc.
There was crowded house at the resu-
lar meeting of the Star club in the rooms
Of the Young Mems Christian association
last evening. The list of stars has already
been carried beyond one hundred. 1t will
five or one hundred and thirty, SO that
each member may be sure of at least one
hundred, as the result of the work of these
evenings.
The constellation of the Lion is now
rising above the eastern horizon in the
early evening, and can readily be traced at
any time after o'clOck as it moves toward
the meridian. 1t is some distance south of
the Great Bear, and is that sign of the 70
diac which lies between the Crab and the
Virgin. Wetake it upon our list now, as
it will aid us presently in fixing the few
faint stars in the Crab to which names have
been given. The group of stars in the head
of the Lion is widely known as ''The
Sickle" because ofits striking resemblance
to that old-fashioned implement of hus-
bandry.
The bright star Regulus, of first magni-
tude, is in the handle of the Sickle, which
is towards the horizOn-the blade lying i'll
the direction of the zenith. This star, which
was named from distinguished Roman
consul, is known also as Cor Leonis, Or the
''Heart of the Lion" Its distance from
the ecliptic is less than one-half a degree.
1t has been much used by nautical men in
determining their longitude at sea. When
Oh the meridian it makes large triangle,
nearly isosceles with Castor, which is
distant about forty degrees to the north
west, and Procyon,i in the Little Dog, about
the same distance to tho southwest The
star at the point where the handle joins the
blade is not named. AL Gieba some nine
degrees from Regulus is the first in the
blade of the Sickle. 1t is double Its Pc
riod about 1000 years. The second star in
the blade is Adhafera in the neck of the
Lion, four degrees from Al Gieba. Six de-
grees from Adhafera is northern Ras al
Asad, third star in blade, and continuing
the blade, we have for the fourth star
southern Ras al Asad, in the mouth of the
Lion. Both stars last named are double
! twenty-five degrees northeast from Reg
ulus is found the well-kAOwn star Denebo-
In, of the second magnitude, in the tail of
the Lion. Between this and the Sickle are
two conspicuous stars, making almost a
right-angled triangle with Denebola, or, in
the opposite direction, parallelogram
with AL Gieba and Adhafera. The upper
star here, which first reaches the meridian
is Zozma. 1t is in the back of the Lion, a
triple star, thirteen degrees east from Al
Gieba and ten degrees northwest from
Denebola. The star below Zozma is not
named. These are all that have received
names in this constellation. Taken to-
gether they constitute a group which, once
learned, will not be forgotten.
We turn now to Cancer, the Crab. a
constellation which shows no bright stars
and which would attract but little atten-
ton from the ordinary observer, were it
not that it is one of the twelve signs of the
Zodiac. 1t occupies its thirty degrees OF
space between the Twins and the Lion,
but none of its stars can be distinguished
in the moonlight. They should be looked
for in the absence Of the moon when the
from Rcgulus to Pollux will be found the
two stars, Asellus Borcalis and Asellus
Australis, in the body of the Crab. Both
are faint, but nearly i'll line between them
a good eye may distinguish the dim cloud
like nebula Prsesepe, the Bee Hive, appar-
emily as large as the human han.l. This
is almost the only nebula in the heavens
that can be seen with the naked eye. 1t
must be looked for in the absence of the
moon, as has been said, and is seen even
then with some difficulty. The stars just
named are at the eastern angles of an
irregular quadrilateral which encloses this
nebula. The upper star on the eastern
side is Aselius Borealis and tho lower on
the same side is Asellus Australis. Acu-
bens, very faint, is half way between Al
Gieba and Procyon. Half way between
Acubens and Procyon is another faint star
not named. Between this and Pollux,
midway, is Tegmine, which is also in line
with Castor and Pollux, about ten degrees
from POllux, near the line last indicated.
The constellation Hydra, only part of
which is yet visible in the evening, winds
along through more than hundred de-
grees of longitude. The head is striking
group of small stars directly south of the
Crab, to which it might readily be sup
posed to belong. Tracing the curving line
of stars from this point, in southeasterly
direction, we reach the star Alphard, an
Arabic word meaning the Lone One. The
name describes the situation of the star.
Alphard is also known as Cor Hydra, or
the Heart of Hydra. A line from AL Gle
ba, through Regulus, will reach Alphard,
about twenty degrees beyond Regulus,
The Lone Star also completes a quadrila-
tral with Regulus, Pollux and Procyon.
We close our list for the evening with
what is known as the Egyptian X, compris
ing five stars in as many consultations,
Betelsuese in Orion, Procyon in the Little
Dog, Sirius in the Greater Dog, Phaet in
the Dove and Naos in the Ship. The first
three are already on the list as Nos. 81,
70 and 90. The last two we fix by CON-
pleting the X southwark, Sirius being at
the crossing of the lines and Betclguese and
PrOcyOn at their northern extremities.
NaOs is found to the southeast as far
beyond the triangle in CAMS Major,
formed by Wesen, Aludra and Adhara. as
this triangle is from Sirius. Phaet is fixed