The evening times., 1895-12-02
.sTIRsIA ADfefnbfR SKIES
Beautiful Consultations Of Sps-
ciaI Interest This Month.
LEGEND OF THE "TWINs"
A Dia pasou of the "Music of tho
Spheres''-"The seven Golden
Chords Of the Heavenly Hepta.
chord" - The Winter Solstice.
'.Houzea for the San-"

More than half a millennium before tha
Christian era Pythagoras of Samos taught
unique and highly poetic philosophy OF
the heavenly bodies.
The simple principle Of gravitation, %
beautifully elucidated by Newton 1000
years later, had not dawned upon the as
siduous students of esoterfcs, who neglect
ed the generous keip Of nature in ths
Interpretation OF her important secrets; and
the renowned philosopher with whose name
is associated much that is mythical pro-
pounded the theory that the stars and the
planets are set in spheres OF crystal. with
the earth as comm on center. The fixed
stars occupied the outer spheres, and each
OF the planets its own transparent setting.
The daily rolling upon each other Of
these spheres accounted for the rising
and setting Of their brilliant tenants. and
this movement was acc OmDanied with
music SO ethereal that it could not pen.
citrate to the ears OF nsortals-''the music Of
the spheres" And In this new school Of
harmony the seven planets were "tne sew
en- golden chords or the heavenly heptA-
chord"
II. as is claimed, Pythagoras indeed
taught his more intimate disciples that
the sun is the real center Of the spheres.
with The earth and the other planets re-
votyiDg about II. he ANTICIPATED Coperni1iiA
ment Of the celestial system.
THE WINTER SOLsTICE.
1 The formal opening of winter b announced
in the astronomical calendar for the 2lst.
when the sun willenter the sign Caprtcornus.
mar rking the winter sOlstice, or period OF
the suns greatest southern deciinatieo.
because of the procession OF The eGuinoxeS
during many Centuries, the signs and the
coincident CONSULTATIONS no longer CORE
sp0nd, and the sun will not reach the
Ii.aI. a
more.
Ir the sun could leave a golden tran In
its apparent annual path among the stars.
We would see the "eclIptic," or actual Of
bit OIL the earth. The space ON each SIDE OF
the eciiptic, TO the total width OF 16 degrees.
is entitled the zodiac" and is the roam.
nienI about the SUM- This belt is divided
into twelve equal parts, whose starry con.
figurations ought To be familiar to every
body. Their order, commencing Win the
vernal equinox, is as follows: Aries, Tau.
rus. Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra.
ScorpiU, Sagittarius, Caprlcornus, Aquarius.
Pisces. A quaint yersification OF these
..bo1ses of the sun" is easily committed
..The KAN, the Bull, the Heavenly Twinak
And next the Crab the Lion shines,
The Virgin ana tie Scales,
The Scorpion, Archer and He-goat,
The Man that bears the watering-po
And ilsh with gihteriDg tails"
THE DECEMBER HOROSCOPE.
Early in the evening the brawny limbs OF
Hercules descend the celestial concave in the
northwest. Andromeda has almost gained
the meridian; the Great Square OF Pegasus
is west: Cygnus, the Dolphin. Lyra and
AQuila hang midway OF the starry dome-
wnile in the south Cetusstretches east OF tha
meridian, and Fomalhaut shines, a lonely
beacon, on the west. Along the suns track
Caprice mus is fast nearing the western hori.
zon, with Aquartus folio wing, while PISCES Is
on the meridian and Aries Is ascending.
ThA csr1 <ff a EnRTl1l
month are Taurus, now III IlUrc command
ing position, exhibiting the beautiful Plei-
AIDES, and the V-shap ped Hyades. referred to
at length in the November paper, and
Gemini, whose chief stars re Castorand Pol
lux. Below Taurus may be seen, Just ristng.
the stars which outline the most Imposing OF
BY the end or the month this magnificent
leader OF star-groups will be in better posi-
ton for observing.
THE STORY OF THE TWINS
The legend of Castor and Pollux is ono OF
the most familiar myths OF the apparently
inexhaustible arcient store They were the
sous of Jupiter, but the narrative OF their
birth must nave been strain upon even the
omuiyorous credulity of the age They as
sisted la soninthe eff ort to recover the gold en-
fleece, beiug distinguished for proweSs. 1t
was believed among the Romans that the
brothers often led their armies in battle.
and secured for them the victory
From the fact that they dispersed the pi-
patrons OF the mariner. Even sacred bis
tory bears witness to their fame, for the
vessel which bore st. Paul to Rome after his
shipwreck had as It's sign Castor and
Poliux." 1t is a curious coincidence that
Pollux is one of the stars used in naviga-
ton in the determination of the position OF
ship at sea-
Castor was slain in q love affair, and the
inconsolable Polux, who wa immortal. beg
ged Jupiter TO restore Castor, OF permit him
to share his fate, with the result that they
lived and died alternately each day until
they experienced translation to the skies.
or much more practical interest to us.
however, is the fact that Castor is a noted
binary, declared by the younger Herschel
to he the largest anu finest of ali the douiaes.
The period OF revolution is upward Of ESQ
years.
CIRCUMPOLAR POSITIONS.
The few consultations which ever remain
above the horizon are the familiar groups
of the north, which make a revolution
about the pole every "a hours. As this Is due
to the diurnal rotation Of the earth, We
should find them every night at the same
hour in the same place, but the orbital move
ment of the earth makes a slight change
every day, completing one additional revo-
luton per year. Early this month CASH
opeia will be found above Polaris, Cepheus
above and west, Perseus above and east.
Draco west, and Ursa Major 1.-THE ..Dipper'D
below. Ursa Minor 1.-THE Little Dipper"l.
easily traced, because the Norm Star Us IN
the end OF the handle, below.
just DtlUN III nOEtEeaSt, lS
Auriga, alway vs. identiried by its leading star.
Capelia, which shines most brilliantly
A little patient comparison OF good star
map with the heavens wtllresult in the quite
easy Identification of the more celebrated
groups, and when once they have become Ia
nliliar tile habit OF scanning the sky while
walking out at night will be found most
gratifying and xhilarating. One comes
to know tile groups so weiithat the presence
OF planet is Immediately detected. simply
because it is a superfluous star.
And the movements OF the swifter planets.
including the so-cailed "retrograde'' mo-
tion, a puzzling feature until one Leaf rms that
it Is complication with the earth's own
movement. are extremely interesting and
Instructive.
AMONG THE PLANETS.
1t is to be hoped that many persons took
the pains to look for Venus in the da ytime
last month. She may still be seen when the
sky is perfectly clear, but it will be neces-
sary to establish some guide OF position be-
fore the sun rises and remember thu rate of
her motion westward. 1t is said that the
first Napoleon was delighted to observe
Venus shining upon him at midday upon the
occasion of a fete in his honor, and that the
attending crowds regarded her as the star
of the conqueror.
and Saturn on the morning of the 22d. Tho
waning moon will be in conjunction with
Venus on the 9Th, Saturn on the 18th, Mars
on the 4th, and Mercury on the 5th. Mer-
curry will reach superior conf junction with the
sun on the Goth. By the latter part of the
month Jupiter will rise at z p. M, and soon
become telescope feast. Uranus will rise
at a. M, and Neptune may be seen in the
telescope on the meridian at o d. m.
The newly discovered comets are not of
sufficient Importance to call for the early
rising necessary in mai king their accuaint-
ancc, ard the furry of an exchange rela tive
to the two full December moons is on par
with the announcement in sensation head
lines by another exchange several months