Evening star., 1896-07-04

identical crown given by Bacchus to Arf-
adne. the daughter of old Minos, whose
capital city was Gnossus, in the Isle of
Crete The bright star now bears the
Arabic name Alphacca. Anciently 1t was
known as Margarita Coronae. the Pearl or
the Crown, designation which, In me-
diaeval times, led to the constellation being
known as the Crown of Saint Margaret.
About ten degrees to the south Of the
Crown will be found the little triangle of
stars which forms the head Of the Ser
pent. The brilliant star to the west Of the
Crown is Arcturus, the Bear Warden, in
the constellation Bootes. At about the
same distance from the Crown in the op-
posite direction Is a trapezium of third
magnitude stars, which forms the lower
part Of the body Of Hercules. Still farther
in this direction is Vega, in the Lyre. the
rival Of Arcturus in brilliancy. Note the
difference in the colors Of these two stars,
Arcturus being yellow, Inclined TO orange,
while Vega IS blush white.
The Lyre is a small constel!ation-of
about the same size as the Northern Crown.
1t is triangular in form and Is marked at
each corner by a pair Of stars. At its
western corner stand Vega and star OF
the fifth magnitude. which is known as
Epsilon Lyrae and Is famous among anna
teur telescopists as the "Double-double
Even an opera glass will make pair of
this apparently single star, while small
telescope will show that each member OF
this small pair is itself a double star. At
the southern corner stand Beta and Gamma
Lyrae. the former Of which-the more
westerly Of the two|s variable star.
ranging from the third to the fourth mag
nitude and going through Its changes IN
period of about thirteen days. 1t Is par
ticularly interesting to astronomers from
the fact that 1t has two maxtma, or cond1-
tions of greatest brilliancy. and two min
ina, at one of which 1t Is less brilliant than
at the other. This is a good star for the
amateur star-gazer to keep an eye upon.
The third corner of the Lyre is marked by
a pair Of fourth-magnitude stars
According TO a determination recently
way"-the point toward which the sun
and its family of planets are travelling In
space and which Sir William Herschei To-
Gated near the left shoulder OF Hercules
lies within the limits of this constellation
Lyra. II NJ. Stumpe Is right In his calcu-
lations we are moving In this direction at
the rate Of eight miles second-no less
than 250.O0O.OO0 miles a year.
Hercules and His Club.
The position of Hercules, between the
Grown and the Lyre, has already been in
dicated The most striking parts of this
constellation are the trapezium. already
referred to- and line OF five stars of the
fifth magnitude, which forms the left arm
The constellation is roughly sketched on
the p1anisphere to aid the reader in finding
its principal stars. The figure is in a kneel-
Ing posture. and, indeed, the old Greek
name of the constellation. Engonasin, sig
nifies On-Knees, f.e., the Kneeler. 1t is so
called by Aratus, who appears never to
have heard Of the name Hercules. for he
says Of the Kneeler, Who he was, or
| what is the cause of his sadness. no man
knoweth." On the modern celestial chart
Hercules carries in his uplifted right hand
club and in his left the three-headed
dog Cerberus. the bringing of which from
the lower world was the last Of the
twelve labors" Of this mythical demigod
The sketch Of Hercules given here would
hardly be an ornament to a celestial chart;
but unartistic though 1t Is, 1t has at any
rate the merit of being accurate. It Is q
figure which anyone who will take the
trouble to scan these stars carefully can
see for himself, and we can hardly doubt
that this was the figure seen by the old
lconstellatfon-maker. We are very apt to
mere children so far art is concerned.
If we would recover their work, If we
would see among the stars the shapes
which they saw, we must look rather for
such figures as child draws upon a slate,
or an Indian draws upon a piece of birch
bark. than for such figures as have been
put upon the chart by the modern Illus
traitors, who have aimed rather to orna-
ment the chart than to bring out faithfully
the actual confguration Of the asterisms
Many of the consultations, although by no
means all of them, which, represented as
we have been accustomed to see them rep
| resented, seem hopelessly fanciful. stand
out with considerable prominence as soon
as we look for them with this idea of what
they may be like. This view may detract
somewhat from the poetry Of the constella-
ticns, but II 1t renders them real and clears
away some Of the mystery which enshrouds
them. something will be gained.
After this remark about Hercules, no
apology Is necessary for the crudeness of
the other figures given on the planisphere
A few notes will aid in the finding of these
lation Libra. the Scales. which adjoins the
actual heavens.
Brilliant Red Star.
The Scorpion will be found at o'clock
tomorrow night exactly SOUTH at about one
fourth of the distance from the horizon to
the zenith. The brilliant red star, Antares
sometimes called the Scorpions Heart, is
at the center Of the constellation On the
right Of this star may be seen the claws.
each marked by line Of three stars Of the