Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-01-02
THE SKY IN JANUARY.
A Star That Recalls the SuperStitiOuS
Beliefs of Ancient Egyptians.
SIRIUS AND ITS GREAT INFLUENCE.
Aspects Of the Planets That Are Most
Prominent This Month.
A VERY REMARKABLE CONJUNCTION
SIRIUS AND ITS GREAT INFLUENCE.
A VERY REMARKABLE CONJUNCTION
TwrITrnN FOR THE prsPATCH.!

WRITTEN FOR THE DISPATCH!
In the winter months the most brilliant
of the stellar considerations are visible in
the early evening, and it is at this season of
the wear that the study of astronomy is the
most interesting to novices. AT the present
time there are great many brilliant orbs
visible on clear evenings, the best known
and most conspicuous of which are Aide
baran, Capella, Betelgeuse, Rigel, Sirius,
Procyon, Affair, Vega Regulus in the
handle of the sickle; the twins Castor and
Pollux. and the planets Venus and Jupiter.
Sirius, the prince of the fixed stars, shines
with a radiance almost equal to that of
Jupiter No other fixed star can compare
with him in brilliancy. He is in the con-
stellation of CAMS Major, which signifies
the Great Dog, and rises about o'clock in
the evening In the eyes of the ancient
Egyptians, Sirius was the most important
star in the heavens from the fact that the
annual overflow OF the River Nile conceded
with his heliacal rising, circumstance
which led them to ascribe that important
event to his influence acting conformity with
that of the sun. That coincidence, how
ever, does not exist at the present day, as
owing to the procession of the equinoxes,
his conjunction with the sun takes place a
little later each wear, and the change in two
or three thousand years has been so great
that even the most ignorant and supersri-
tious Egyptian of the present day would
scarcely credit Sirius with so extraordinary
an influence.
A Beautiful Constellation.
One of the IT ost brilliant ard beautiful
consultations in the heavens is Orion, which
contains two stars OF the first magnitude and
four of the second, besides a great number
of fainter stars. The two brightest stars in
this constellation are Betelgeuse and Rigel,
the former being of reddish color, and the
latter white. No one can fail to recognize
this magnificent constellation. 1t rises dae
east and sets due west, and is distinguished
b. large rectangular figure formed by four
bright stars; the northern boundary of the
figure is formed bv Betelgease
and Belatrix, and the southern
by Ricel and Saiph. In the center of the
figure is a row OF three stars, which in the
ancient mythical astronomy represented the
belt Of the great warrior Orion. Three or
four degrees to the south OF the belt Of the
warrior is the famous nebula of Orion,
the naked eve. This nebula has always
been an obiec: of interes. and wonder to
professional astronomers, and has often
been scrutinized by their keen gaze. If the
nebular hypothesis is correct, the
numerous nebule which are scattered
through the stellar regions may be
regarded as star manufactures, or perhaps
more correctly, as stars in process of iOrma-
Iion. and it would thus appear that the
~ &c ooipr ot 4l,a
time, perhaps with much activity as
VIXEN our earth was first launched into
boundless space.
Almost everyone has probably noticed
the large equilateraI triangle which is
formed by the bright stars Sirius, Betel-
geuse and Procyon, and the right-anglll
triangle formed by Aldebaran, Betelgeuse
2ad Rigel. These are among the most
striking OF the many geometrical figures in
which the SKY abounds.
The quare of Pegasus
in the constellation of the FLYING Horse is
prominent in the western skv and is nearly
Cue north of Jupiter. 1t is composed of
four stars of the second magnitude, Markab
and Scheat forming the western side of the
square, and Algenib and Alpha Androm-
ede the eastern, the distance between each
of these stars being abou: 40. As the
square is situated at o'clock in the even
ing, the star tina: is at the greatest altitude
is Alpha AndromedR, which is the stand
ard star for the Washington Observatory.
1t is situated within half a degree of the
prime circle of right ascension, and comes
10 the meridian about two minutes later
than the vernal equinox or frs point of
the sign Aries.
Between 10 and II O'Clock il the evening
a very brilliant star is seen very nearly
overhead. 1t is Capella, the leading brill
liant of the Northern Hemisphere and the
third brightest star in the heavens. 1t be-
longs to the constellation Auriga, the Char
ioteer, and is situated in the edge of the
Milky WAY. Some distance west Of Capclla
is Alpha Persei, also in the Milky Wavand
about 100 south OF it Algo! the "demon
star, which is remarkably variable in brill
lance, sometimes appearing as bright rs the
second magnitude, and at other times be-
comes as faint star OF the fourth magni-
tude,
EcnHs Brilliant Planet.
OF the planets visible this month, Venus
is the most brilliant, having at last emerged
from under cover Of the suns rays and
wrested the championship from giant Jupi-
ter, which has been the reignipg prince of
the planets for many months. Her stay
above the horizon after sunset is yet rather
short but it is gradually increasing and the
queen Of the planets will soon have receded
so lar from the sun that she VIII be SHINING
sparkling diamond in the sky long after
twilight has ended. She is now in the con-
stellation Capricornus the Goat
Jupiter is considerably less brilliant now
than he was three months ago, but he is
still very conspicuous object in the even
ing sky. His motion is now direct or east
erlv, and the careful observer NAV notice
from time to time his gradual recession
from his last summers neighbor, the small
star Delta Aguarii. He is now in q straight
line with The stars Scheat and Markab, the
two western stars of the square of Pegasus,
before mentioned. The wide gap between
Venus and Jupiter is constantly lessening,
although both planets are moving in the
same direction. Venus is moving so much
more rapidly than Jupiter that they are
now more than a degree closer together
each day, and on the 9th of February they
Will be in conjunction. The approach will
be so close that the two objects will with |
difficulty be distinguished from one, and it |
will be fine view.
"A Remarkable Conjunction.
OF the remaining planets visible there is
not much to be said. Saturn is becoming |
more brilliant, and now rises before mid |
night. When at their nearest approach to |
each other, there will be less than half |
m To n4. ha-, Al