The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1898-01-07
ASTRONOMY FOR JANUARY.

Facing the southeast at about O'Clock
this evening we shall have before US the
most splendid star region in the Heavens
Ia region attractive from whatever point
OF view We scan The skies. Here. within
an area roughly circular, the extent O.
which is scarcely one-ttnth OF the celes-
| tial sphere, are seven stars OF the first
magnitude Of them. Sirius. the Dog
kStar, the brightest star. In the Heavens
another OF them. Capella, the brightest
in the northern hemisphere. Here is the
great X-lke figure of Orion, the prince o.
the consultations, imposing In itself. ara
surrounded with halo of poetry and
mythology which date back to and beyond
the time OF Homer. Here Is Taurus, the
celestial Bull, whose duty 1t was auciently
to open the year with his golden horns '
Here are the finest two two-naked eye star
clusters, the Hyades, in the Bulls face.
and the Pleiades, In his shoulder; and here,
too, invisible TO The naked eye, is the lars-
est of the nebuae, that In the sword OF
Orion We can spend our evening probably
within the limits Of this region.
before us is Sirius, unmistakable from It's
SURPRISING brilliancy, equal to that Of nine
ordinary stnrs OF the first magnitude.
Among the anciefts Sirius was gene ly
regarded us a star of baneful iniluenee. The
Persians called 1t Tlshtya, and dreaded Its
malign radiance as the cause of summer
drouths and Of disease among men and cat
tie Similar notions respecting 1t were
prevalent among the Greeks aad Romans.
The Egyptians, on The contrary, regarded 1t
as beneiicent star. 1t was known to them
as Sothis, and 1t was believed to be the
residence of the goddess Isis. It's rising,
or first appearance above the horizon at
daybroak, which occurred In July, mark d
tine beginning of the Egyptian year. iThs
even brought with it the annual inundation
which fertilized the valley of the Nile and
II was, perhaps, because of the stars sup
posed watchlul care over the interests Of
tie husbandman that A. was sometimes
called Anubis. the Dog, a name which still
clings to It,
Sirius Is one of the few stars--about 100
CT which the distances from us are known,
with a greater or less margin of uncer-
tainty. 1t ranks third in the order of dis
lance, not first as was fo.m rly naturally
supposed TO be the case, he nearest, so
TAR as is now known, being Alpha Centaurl
IA brilliant first magnitude star situated
50 FAR south as barely to appear above our
horizcn-and the next being 81 Cygni,
star of only the fifth magnitude in the
swan. According to The measures of Drs.
Gill and Elkin, the distance of Sirius Is
about 500 coo times that OF the sun--about
nine light years. That is to say, light.
which reaches us from the sun in n little
ever eight mnues, and from the moon in
one and a quarter seconds, requires nine
years 10 flash across the space which inter-
venes between us and the Dog Star TIE
Gt1f ,fseI Ii
to star of the second or third magnitude.
The light of Sirius is BLUSH white. 1t is
richer in blue and violet rays than that OF
the sun, which is classed by astronomers
among the yellow stars, of which Capela,
now found nearly overhead, is a fine exam
pie. Contrast the colors of Capella with
that of Sirius. The spectroscope reveals
difference in their light equally striking.
The spectrum Of Sirius and those of the
"Siriaa." or white stars generally, are
strongly marked by three broad lines,
which indicate that the stars are sur
rounded by extensive atmospheres, con-
sisting largely of hydrogen. These stars are
doubtless Intensely hot, as well as sur
passngly brilliant. The spectra of the
Solar" or yellow stars are crossed by
multitudes of fine lines, as is the solar
spectrum, which indicate that their at
mospheres are made up of the vapors of
metals and metalloids. These stars are
supposed to be farther advanced in world
life than the hotter Sirian stars.
The bright star seen at the right of
Sirius and nearly in the east is Prccyon,
the Smaller Dog-Canis Minor, Sirius being
CAMS Major. According to DR.. Elkin, Pro-
cyon is distant from US about twelve Light
years, and Is the nearest of the tn first
stars of the northern hemi-
sphere.
Orion contains two stars of the hrst
~. Ilnt. ~.
el-jeuze). in the right shoulder, and Rigei
tReejeD in the left foot Bsllatrix, in the
left shoulder and the three stars which
form the belt-the Three Kings''-are Of
the second magnitude. Saiph, in the right
knee, is OF the third. Note the difference
In color OF Betelgeuse and Rigal. The lat
ter is Slrian star; the former is distinctly |
red. This red color, which characterizes !
many of the stars, the most which are be-
low the fourth magnitude. has commonly |
been held of late years to indicate that |
these stars are verging toward extinction |
as luminaries-that they are discrepit suns |
sir Norman Lockyer holds, as part OF |
his "meteoritic theory" that mot all OF |
them-and Betelgeuse is one-are only lust
on their career as suns, being at |
present simply dense and coudensing shoa.s
Of meteorites, which are clashing and |
grinding together under the force of gray-
ny, and are thus heated to luminosity |
Beielgeuse is, at any rate body in a
physical condition quite different from the
'hn, though the spectroseope shows that
i contains MANY of the elements found IN
the sun--sodium, magnesium calcium, iron
and bismuth.
Aldebaran. the principal star in Taurus,
ilrectly above Orion, is also an orange-red
star, very closely RESI- milling Betelgeuse
lhe four stars--Sirius Rigel, Betelgeuge
nd Aldebaran--form a large diamond
'haped figure. at the center OF which are
ne Three Kings. a relation which it Is
we'll to remember
Aldebaran is at one corner of V-shaped
'luster of small stars known as the Hy-
ldes. which form the Bulls fnce Though
lot SO striking cluster TO the naked eye
$ the Pleiades, it is an exceedingly pretty