Evening star., 1898-06-04

1~niu OF the handle of tho
O. Great Dipper. Follow ing this curve still
farther, at distance from Arcturus about
equal to its distance from the end star of
the DipIers handle, we strike Spica the
Wheat-ear. the brightest star in Virgo
Spiea has just crossed the meridian at two
fffths of the distance from the horizon 70
the zenith At a somewhat lower altitude
In the west is Regulus. in the constellation
=Leo-the jewel in the handle of the Sickle,
which forms the Lions head and shou-
ders- Low in the southeast is Antares. the
rTddy heart" of the Scorpion.
The three last named stars. all of the
first magnitude, lie along the suns path
the ecliptic-and will serve tonight to show
us at a glance the location of the half of
thdf important great circle of the heavens
which Is now above the horizon. The plan
cts travel very nearly in the suns path.
Two OF them are now visible-Jupiter. I'M
mistakable from its great brillancy be-
tween Spica and Regulus. and Saturn, some
SIX degrees northeast Of Antares.
The Diamond of Virgo
Arcturus and Spica mark two of the cor
ners of the great Diamond of Virgo the
eastern and the southern, respectively. At
the western corner stands Denebola.
bright second magnitude star in the tail of
the Lion At its northern corner is Cor Ca
roll the principal star i'll the Hunting Dogs
Games NenSticD. This star is of only the
third magnitude. but being much the
brightest star hereabcUts it is quite con-
spicuous- IL is at about two-thirds of the
distance from Denebcla to Benetuatsch
the eIi star In the Dipper's handle The
Iozenge-shaped figure or diamond formed
by these -oCr stars measures about nifty
degrees from north to sOuth-fiVe-niuths of
the distance from the horizon to the Zenith
Although a modern constellation like the
Upper, the Sickle and the Square of Peg
asus; II Is useful landmark in this part
OF the heavens, easily remembered and
serving TO TX clearly in mind the relative
positions Of 'he stars which form it.
Coma Bcrenices.
In the upper half of the Diamond, mid
way between Denebola and Cor Carroll, lies
the rich though rather d:ffuse sprinking of
small stars known Coma Berenices (Ber-
enice's Hair. There are said to be in tIIis
cluster forty-three stars visible TO the
n@ ked eye, mostly Of the fifth and sixth
II nagnitudes- 1t is a fine field tor the opera
glass The cluster is particularly interest
ing to astronomers because of its richness
In rebu!&=. 1t lies very Eear1y at one of the
poIes of the Milky Way; that is to say ii is
ahcut ninety degrees distant from a great
circle Of the heavens running along tht con-
ter Of the Milky Way
The distribution of the nebulaa over the
CsieStiat sphere is, Ike that of th,. stars
very lar from being uniform and a re-
n arkdhie fact-first observed by the eIder
Herschal and brought out very strikipgly
Dy Proctor, who carefully plotted upnn a
ciidFt or the heavens al of tine known neb-
u!&@-ls that the distribution of the nebulse
Is II general precisely the reverse of that of
the st2rf- Where the stars are the most
plentiful the netulac are. as a ruiz. the
I5"tst; Inc stars are crowded in and along
the Milky ay. ami thin out rapidly as W.
carry our survey TO a distance from this
belt Of condensation, on either side Tha
reverse IS the case with the nebulae these
lTrrr .rrfz-
the most abundant in tn. regions abo1t tbe
poles of the Galactic circle.
Hercules.
FACING now the east, We have upon our
left, at about one-third of the distance from
the horizon to the zenith. the brilliant star
vega. or Alpha Lyrae. rival IL not an
squal. Of Arcturus in splendor Directly be-
fore us, well UP toward thu zenith. is the
Northern Crown. a small semi-oval of six
ttars, forming an asterism tCo striking TO
pc mistaken. The Crown lies at about ONE
1hird OF the distance from Arcturus TO Ve-
"a. on lire curving slightly downward.
Ihe region belu~ the Crown as the
heaVens are now posed at . o'clock and at
the TiSht OF Vega, is occupied by the OLD
constellation Hercules. rather interesting
constellation for a reason to be given nreS
sALy- Inc body of Hercules-or the lower
part OF ire bOdy-is formed by a trapezium
or four third-magnitude stars midway he
tween Vega and the Crown. The head
Li.l.k-d by a variable star. Alpha Herculis
which HuCtUates between the third and the
fodrtE magnitude. is southeast of the ira
peziunl. at a distance from il equal 10 about
twice the length of its longer diagonal Be
low this star II bright second ma gnitude
star. which stands in the head of Onhiu.
chus. The LEFT arm of Hercules is formed
by line of five ifth-magnitude stars. mid
way between, the head and Vega. The fig
urc Is Ia a kneeling posture and ind ed
the OLD Greek name o. the constellation
EESonatsin, signifies the kneeler. The left
knee Is marked by n star Of tn. fourth
magnitude, midway between the trapezium
and Vega. The left foot. also marked bv a
star OF the fourth magnitude Is about five
degrees south Of the eyes Of the Dragon,
Apex of the Sun's Way.
Hercules contains one of the finest tels-
scopic stIr-clusters in the heayeas-some-