The evening times., 1896-03-02
THE MoyARCHOF PLANETS.


| For some months past Cancer has en-
I joyed AMI for some months 10 come will en-
/ Joy the distinction of harbOrnc the monarch
| of the planets, Jupiter, within its boundary
| lines. II comes To the meridian about 10
! O'Clock in the evening during the month OF
March.
Viewed through a powerful instrument,
! some OF the telescope cluster present a
signt OF indescribabc beauty, the central
/ portion shining with dazzling luster,
| which gradually dininlshes toward the
| edge.
Inc nehnlac, word that is the diminu-
I tive OF Il Latin word meaning cloud, are
faint patches in the sky, whicn for many
wears l.lve engaged the attention OF the as
! trOnOnerS. Astronomical catalogues con-
/ tain at present more than 1000 Of these re-
markabie bodies, three Of which are visible
TO Inc naked eye by means Of telescopes or
a very high power OF nasniryinc some
nebulae have been resolved INTO star cluS-
that they can never be thus resolved, prov
ing that these nebuiae are not composed OF
stars.
The brightest of the nebuIae visible to the
na aked eye Is the constellation Androme.ia.
The first two stars in the handle of the Great
Square OF Pegasus, on the Andromeda
slue. are Beta anu Gamma. II we erect b
perpendicular on the lint adjoining these
two stars at Beta. 1t VIII pass through this
famous nebula.
The next brightest and OF all nebulae the
most beaItiful. is i'll Orion. Almost due
south from the southernmo>J of the three
stars tnat form the belt. nj distance OF
the laiicr. there is multiple St3r-Theta-
which lies IN the great ntDula.
a BEAUTIFUL SIGHT.
Viewed even with a small telescope this
nebuId presents Il beautIIui sight Accoru-
ing to lueIr shape the nebuIc rave been di-
viued INTO several classes, rs spiral, clip
teal, globular. and others. As 10 bright
Hess some nebulae are varying, though as
yet no regular period has been ascertaG.ed.
Photography. which h;rS proved power
full aid in invest igatIng the nature or stellar
creations. ana also SDeGtGTOsNODN, a ST
more effective means at arriving al more
suCCeSsfui results OF such researches, have
not vet furnished an entirely sati-fa|, ,Ory
explanation OF the true nature of these
neDuia clouds, though some OF the theories
advanced are quite plausible ana may yet
be proved TO be true.
Until This is done. however, we must be
cautious in accepting as final any theory.
no matt cr how specious 1t DE-. 1t Is one of
the characteristic features OF science. es-
peciaiiy of those that are called exact, that
no theory is accepted unless it has been sub
tected 10 the most rigorous tests. AS
lronomy is essentially mathematical
science, and must, therefore, be subjected
10 the rigid treat of that most exact
and eXactIng of all sciences.
At about O'Clock in the March even
ings the beautiful constellation Orion is
bending toward the southwestern horizon,
though yet fully visible. As it is south of
the equator, 1t describes in our latitude a
smaller are on the celestial sphere than
most other CONSULTATIONS.
CAMS MaiOr the constellation which con-
talnS the brightest OF all liked stars, de
scribes a still smaller are, as it is south
OF Orion, though we shall see it for two
months during the earlier hours of the even
ing. AuriEa, with Capella. Perseus, Tau
rus with the Pleiades, Hyades and the bright
star Aldebaran, both Dogs with Sirius and
PrOcyou. The twin stars Castor and PolluX.
all OF which have proved during the winter
months. as things of beauty, a joy for
ever to those who are not wholly destitute
OF a sense of what is truly beautiful in
nature, will adorn our evening skies dur
ing March.
THE LUSTER OF JUPITER.
Looking eastward, we are attracted by
the luster of Jupiter, which shines as even
ing star in the constellation Cancer, con
ferrinS distinction upon this otherwise
dim Constellation. In the east We observe
a red star OF the first magnitude, which
forms the chief ornament of the ZOdiacal
constellation OF Leo, OF the Lion.
This constellation bears rather strik-
ing resem bla nee to sickle, for which rea-
son il is often designated under that ap-
pellatiOn by those who are unacquainted
with the Technology of the science. West
OF this sickle We see Il somewhat bright star
belonging 10 the same constellation. This
is Deneboia, next TO RegUlus. the brightest
star in the Lion, and as such also called
Beta Leonis. 1t forms with two other stars
between il and the sickle a right triangle.
Below Regulus we perceive rather