Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-09-28

ton Pisces the Fishes; in midheavens ex-
actly on the meridian is the Waterman.
Aquarius: below Aquarius is the Southern
Fish, marked by the star Fonalhaut.
To locate these consultations little
more precisely we will go over the list and
point cut their principal stars.
Cassiopeia, known also as the Lady In
Her Chair. or simply the chair. is easily
recognized from the arrangement of its
five brighter stars in the form Of some
what broad letter w. This fair queen of
mythology sits nearly erect in her
chair. The position Of her head is marked
by star of the fourth magnitude above
the second star Alpha) of the group, reck-
oning from the right-hand corner Of the
w. and the lowermost of these five stars is
at her feet.
Auriga. the Wagner. may be located by
the star Carella, which marks the position
of the Goat upon the Wagoner's left shoul-
der. This rather interesting constellation
can be stueied better month OF two later.
Perseus and It's Locality.
Midway tetween Capella and the lowest
star in Cassicreia. to the right of straight
line drawn between the two stars, is Alpha
Persei. q star of the second magnitude in
the breast of Perseus This old hero of
my theology now stards erect. his left foot
marked by star of the third magnitude.
being some six or eight degrees above the
horizon, ard his right hand, in which he
brandiSheS an invisible sword, about mid
way between the star Alpha and the center
of Cassiopeia. The body of Perseus is
marked by a scattered group of stars of
the lower magnitudes, which an opera
glass brings out very effectively. In the
handle of the sword of Perseus is the ia
nous star cluster, which, although it re-
quires good telescope to see it well, Is
also a fine object for an opera glass or field
glass.
Ten degrees to the right of Alpha Persei
and (at this hour at the same altitude is
Algol, the Blinking Demon of the Arabs 1t
marks the Medusa head. which Perseus
carries in his left hand.
Algol is very Interesting variable star,
and the beginner in star gazing should
early form its acquaintance. Ordinarily 1t
is of the second magnitude. but after shin
ing thus for a period of about two and
half days it's light begins to wane and in
the course of about four hours it fades to
star of the fourth magnitude. In this
condition 1t remains fifteen or twenty min
utes and then begins to brighten, and in
another four hours it RECEIVERS its ordinary
splendor. thus to shine for another period
of two and half days. This singular be-
havior of the star can be explained salts
factorily upon the superstition thatthe star
Is attended by a dark satellite, which circles
around it in a period to give it exactly. of
two days, twenty hours and forty-nine
minutes, the satellite periodically passing
between the bright star and US and cutting
off portion of its light. This view has
| recently been confirmed by means of photo
spectroscopy, and is considered estab-
lished beyond a reasonable doubt-one of
| many instances of the discovery of the in
visible by this new means of research.
Landmarks of the Sky.
On two evenings of October Algol will go
through its changes at hours favorable for
observation. On the 14th 1t will begin to
wane at about o'clock, and will reach
minimum about half an hour after midnight.
On the 18th 1t will be at minimum at 8
o'clock. and on this evening, therefore.
both its loss and recovery of briiliancy can
be observed at seasonable hours.
Alpha Persei is the first in line Of five
| stars of about the same brilliancy and at
about the same distance apart. which
| curves upward to the right and terminates
| in a large rectangular figure, completed by
| the addition of two other stars still farther
to the right. These seven stars form
striking dipper-shaped figure of about twice
the length of the Great Dipper in the Ursa
| Major. The second, third and fourth of
these stars. reckoning from Alpha Persei.
telonG to Andromeda. The lowermost of
the three, Gamma, is in her loft foot; the
| uppermost, Alpha, known also as Alpheratz,
is in her head. This star forms one corner
of the rectangular figure before referred to.
The remaining three stars in the auadri-
lateral belong to Pegasus The whole four
are. however, commonly grouped together
in a single asterism known as the Square
of Pegasus. This figure is one of the grand
landmarks of the sky, and it should be
noted carefully.
Above the middle star in Andromeda are
two fainter stars. which, together with the
bright star, form the belt of the maiden.
Very close to the upper of these three stars
directly above it's the great nebula
lately rendered popularity interesting by the
| magnificent photograph of it by Mr.. Isaac
Roberts of Liverpool. The nebula is visible
to he naked eye peculiar looking star,
and it is brought out Enthusiastically with an
opera glass.
The star Gamma, in Andromeda, Is a
splendid colored double, one of the finest
in the heavens, and not difficult for small
telescope. Its component stars are orange
and green. Note that Algol forms with
this star and Alpha Persei a nearly right
angled triangle.
If we will run straight line from the
head of Andromeda dagonally across the
Square and continue 1t beyond to an equal
distance. we shall strike Alpha Aquarii, a
third ma gnitude star, in the right shoulder
of the Waterman. Still farther to the
right, at distance about two-thirds as
great, is Beta Aquarii. star of the same
magnitude, in the left shoulder. Above