Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-04-04

er is very suggestive Of the animal for
which 1t is named.
Leo is one of the zodiacal constellations-
one of those markers which had been de-
vised in the earliest time of which We Lave
record for keeping trace of the changing
seasons. At the present time the sun. rtrr
suing his annual eastward round of the
heavens. enters this constellation about the
middle of August and remains in it until
the middle of September. Upon leaving
Leo. the sun enters the constellation Virgo,
and soon thereafter he crosses the line
about the 2lst of Septemher-and enters
the Southern Hemisphere. But this ar
rangement is comparatively modern. The
sun has not always crossed the celestial
equato so soon after leaving Leo as he
does now. While the suns apparent path
among the stars-,he "ecEptic'-is invar-
liable in its position, the celestial equator
which Is simply the great circle in which
the plane of the earsh's equator, extended
Indefinitely, would cut the starry sphere, is
continually. although very slowly, shifting
its place among the stars, in such wise
that the two points at which it crosses the
SUNS path-the "equinoxes'-are slowly
sliding along that path toward the west.
The rate Of this moyement-knovn as the
procession Of the eQuinoxes'-.s such that
the two crossing points perform a corlplete
revolution of the heavens in about &c, O6e
years. For this reason some two theusa nd
years ago the sun entered the constellation
Leo month earlier than it does now Two
thousand years earlier it entered the con-
stellation at about the time Of the summer
solstice. At a still earlier epoch-six or.
seven thousand years earlier-the sun en-
tered Leo upon passing the vecnal equinox.
SO that Leo. as a seaSon-marker, then had
the position which is now held by the con-
stellation Pisces. If it were possible, there
fore, to determine what precise season of
FpnFeSPpfRN w
fixed upon IS a zodiscal "siga," very in
terestine date would be established. ...
The Water Serpent.
Between Leo and the southern horizon
the Hydra, or Water Serpent, stretches his
enormous length from a point midway be-
tW cen Reg1lus and Procyon to a point lust
above the horizon in the southeast. The
brightest star in this exceedingly shadow
constellation. Cor Hydrae, the HYDRA "a
Heart, is Of only the second magnitude
yet 1t Is quite conspicuous from its lonely
Regulus, and Is at about. the same distance
as that star from PrOcyon. Near the con-
ter of the triangle formed by these three
stars Is the Hydra's head, marked by a
the middle and brightest one is of the thind
magnitude. This head is a very pretty oh
)ect Tor an opera glass, which reveals o,,ife
a cluster of stars here
now east of the meridian at about one-third
OF the distance from the horizon Tn tho
zenith, both stand upon the Hydra's hack
Ihey contain between them but one star Of
being of the fourth and fifth. vet tbev are
quite striking figures, owing to the paucitv
OF stars In this region of the heavens The
powl OF the cup is formed by a semi-circle
Oh OIL hEs Stars rather larger than the North
ern Crown, which opens toward the east
a line OF three stars on the right forms tho
base. The cup thus formed is a very pass
able goblet, though little lop-sided.
the n cnn ,o mnt : sa I'm more conspicuous than
constellation. Its four brighter stars form
a trapezium, or dnequalsided square The
low , erm es and brightest of these stars
the others forms the body The bird 10 ra,
resented as pecking at the Hydra's back #
DeinS apparently a carnivorous crow The
bright star In the feet bears the Arabic name
Alcnlea, which means the Tent and Is nroh
ably to be regarded as the name of the con-
steilation rather than of this particular star.
AT any rate. the group Of stars is more SIG.
gestve OF tent than Of bird.
One of the Brilliunts.
In the east the Serpent has just thrust his
head aeve the horizon. Above this. At
about one-third of the distance from the
horizon to the zenith, is Arcturus, the Bear
warden, which is to form one of the bril-
hants Of the summer evening sky. To the
right of Arcturus and nearly in the south
east is Spica, the Wheat-Ear, the principal
star in the constellation Virgo. The three
stars Arcturus, spica and Denebola form
. large triangle, the sides of which are
about equal in length. By the addition of a
fourth star, Cor Carroll. Charles Heart. a
star OF the third magnitude, the principal
star in the Hunting Dogs a lozenxe-shaned
figure is formed. known as the Diamond of
virgo. Coma Berenices. in the upper part
of this Diamond, is diffuse cluster Of be-
tween forty and fifty stars Of the fourth.
fifth and sixth nagnitudes and is a splendid
opera glass field. This region Is astronomi-
caily interesting because OF the great num-
her of nebuiae which it contains The con-
stellation 10 said to have been formed by the
astronomer Conon In honor Of the queen
Of one of the Pt1lemies.
Another hne opera glass object is the
Northern Crown, which will now be found
At Q pm. some twelve OF fifteen degrees
above the horizon, between east and north
east. The Grown consists of a semi-circle
Of six stars, Of which thu brightest Alpheta.
sometimes called the Pearl ar f11e (Srnvn