Evening journal., 1898-08-02
THE AUGUST SKIES
lcontlnued From FIrst Page.l

Andromedes, those rasllalting from a |
point in Perseus are called Perseids, |
and thus we have from THE names OF
the respective considerations Geminids
and Lyrids, etc. These meteor swarms
pursun a regular orbit arourt the sun,
and, as matter OF course, the earth
in its revolution around the sun can
encounter these swarms only when
their orbit inteTsscts the meteorlc path.
1t follows from this that, at any rate
for a long time, the different showers
occur only in certain months The
early portion of dhe month of August
is the only possible time for the ap-
pearance of the Pereeids, the radiant
Of which, as the name Indicates, is
Situated in the constellation Persues,
which, at present, may be seem at about
O'Clock in the evening low down in
the northeast During THE earlier por-
tlon Of August the attentive observer
is very apt to see a greater number Of
shooting stars in that direction.
THE CONSULTATIONS.
The principal consultations that in
course OF the month of August come to
the meridian at about O'Clock in the
evening are Draco. Lyra and Sagit-
tarius.
Draco, or the Dragon, is one of THE
circumpolar tellations, that is,
such as never set in our latitude,
since the circle THEY describe around
THE pole once in twenty-four hours
never ineersects the horizon. This
long constellation winds itself between
the two Bears, forming three loops or
coils. The head OF the monster is
markd by a trapezium OF four stars, the
Two most conspicuous of which are
; Beta, or Rastben and Gamma, CT
E,tanin. This confguration OF the ORA
CONS hsad Is always near the fine first
magnitude star Vega, in the cOnstella-
tion Lyua, though the latter will rise
and set, whereas the former lis always
above THE horizon. Half way between
the star Gamma, IN the bowl OF the
Little Dlpper, and Theta, or Mizar, in
the handle OF The Great Dipper, is a
Z star Of The third magnitude, called AL
3 lpha Drac0nl, or Thuban. This scar
l Is some Importance, as about 1900
l years ago it was the Pole star. As a
consequence OF the procession equi-
noxes the worlds axis is shifting slow
~, i.s extremities describing in 25,SOC
years a circle, The radius OF which il
281k degrees, and centre the POKE oi
the ecliptic. Although the pole Of tht
e heavens is coming NEARER the presen'
Z pole star, Polaris, reaching its closes
: proximity OF u degree to it at Ok
Il close OF Uhe next century, it win theI
e begin to rscede from it, and in abou
n 12.OOO years Poiaris will be mo longer
le the pole star but relegate this olain
u to the beautiful star Vega. The sta
Gamma. or Etanin, in the Dragon'
head, marks almost exactly the zenftl
Of Greenwich, from which almost al
ie civilized nations reckon their lOnsi
10 tude. BY observation upon Etanin th.
~ so-ealled alteration Of light" was dis
'e covered. by which we understand TIN
'' apparent displacement OF a heavenly
w body, due to THE combination OF TIL
ut orbital motion OF the earth with ha
of light.
The constellation Lyra, though
- occupies no vast space in the heaveng
ys is distinguished by containing one G
the finest stars in ihe whole sky, Alph
Lyrae, or Vega. Although astrono
mers have not yet succeeded in accu
rate.y measuring sidereal distances,
= admits Of NO doubt that Vega is an in
comparably vasusr body than our SUI
At a distance Of about 2 degrees fror
Vega there are two stars of the fOurt
~ magnitude, Epsilon and Theta, whic
o. form a very pretty Hquilateral triangi
he with il. Epsilon, the more norther
ia OF the two, is a quadruple star. b
Us rlEans CT a common opera glass TIL
n star ig separated into two, and pow
q erful instrument divid-s each agai
On into two. Southeast Of Vega, at dis
tance of about 8 degrees, are situate
.e the stars Beta and Gamma Lyrae. Ea
9O of Scorpio, a constellation engages a
0o tenalon, which Familiarity, and not II
er aptly, is called the Milk Dlpper. i
scientific name is Sagittarius, meanin
ch the arches. The four stars in the bov
d. are Sigma, Tau, Theta and Phi, 10 II
- last OF which the handle is aJtache
ed marked by the star lambda. South
at the iaHer Delta Epsilon and Gamn
A toim an isoscles triangle. The ol
&C. server cannot help noticing that u
u Milky Way, in Sag.ttarius, is especial
bright and irregular, presenti1
n lstreamers and dark pockets.
-et Between Sagittarius and Scorpio an
" lnorth OF beth, the constellation Ophl
" chus, with THE Serpent, extends fro
nj east 10 west and north, while COror
Porealis and Hercules, rorh of Ophil
ckus. are bending toward the Yves
1 Il. 81