Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-09-30
OCTOBER. HEAVENS
Stars and Consultations That Will
Be Above the Horizon.
FIVE OF TEE FIRST MAGNITUDE
interesting Facts and Figures for
Amateur Astronomers.
STUDYING THE VARIABLES

| Written for The Evening Star.
| OF the fourteen first-magnitude stars
which are visible in the mean latitude of
| the United States. only five will be above
| the horizon at o'clock this evening They
| are Fomalhaut. low in the south; Vega and
Altar. in mid-heavens in the west, the for
mer on our right, the latter our left
as we face in that direction: Capella. in
the northeast. and Aldebaran, barely above
| the horizon. little north of east. Arctu-
| rus. in the northwest, and Antares, in the
| southwest, have just disappeared below the
| horizon.
The most interesting of the consultations
| now visible at the hour named are east
| OF the meridian. Directly before US as
We face the east, midway from the horizon
TO the zenith, Is Andromeda. Beneath her
/ Is Aries: at her left and we'll up toward the
| zenith In the northeast is Cassiopeia: be-
| low this constellation and at the feet of An
dromeda stands Perseus. still lower is Au-
riga, only In part above the horizon
Beneath Aries is Taurus, at the right of
Aries, occupying nearly the whole of the
southeastern quarter of the heavens Is c.
tus the Whale, or Sea Monster. At the
| right Of Andromeda and at a greater alt;-
| tude Is the winged horse Pegasus: be-
tween Pegasus and Cetus is the constella-
ZION PISCES, the Fishes; in mid heavens in
Ine south is Aquarius. the Waterman: be-
| low Aquarius Is the Southern Fish of
| which little more than the eye-the star
Fomalhaut-is discoverabe
Easily Identified.
CasSfopeia, known also as the LADY in
Her Chalr, or simply as the Chair is east
| ~ ldentlf1ed from the arrangement Of her
hNe brighter stars in the form of a some
what broad letter w. This fair queen of
mythology now sits nearly. erect In her
chalr. Her head is marked by a star of
the fourth magnitude above the second star
IN the W, reckoning from right TO Iefr. the
| feet. ID III her
! Auriga, the Wagner can be located nv
means or the star CapeIa which marks
the position of the Goat borne unon tha
Wagoner'S left shoulder "
Mia"ay between Capella and the lowest
S H,al IA Cassiopeia, at the right of straight
| line drawn between the two stars is AI,7ha
Persei. star of the second magnitude in
me breast of Perseus This old hero of nv
ttnoiogy now stands erect, brandishing in
MS right hand as he is depicted upon CO
| iestial charts weapon which seems IN he
| cross between a sword and a pruning
| nook. but of which no trace can be found
among the stars, and swinging by its snakv
| locks, in his left hand, the frightful head Of
Medusa. in the forehead of which stands
| the Demon star" Algol.
Interesting Stars.
Alpha Persei is the first in a line of five
stars of about the same brilliancy and at
about the same distance apart " hich curves
| upward to the right and terminates in a
large rectangular figure. completed by the
addition of two other second magnitude
stars which form striking dipper-shaped
inquire of about twice the length Of the
Great Dipper in the Ursa Major The sec
ond third and fourth of these stars, reck-
oned from Alpha Persei belong to An
dromeda The lowermost of the three.
Gamma. Is In her left foot: the uppermost.
Alpha, known also Alpheratz is in her
| head. This star forms one corner of the
| rectangle referred to, the remaining three
stars of which belong to Pegasus. The
four are. however. commonly grouped to-
gether rs a single asterism known as the
Square of Pegasus.
A straight line run from the head of An
dromeda dfagonally across the Square and
continued beyond to distance equal to the
length OF the diagonal will strike Alpha
Aquarti. third magnitude star in the right
shoulder of the Waterman. Still farther to
the right. at a distance about two-thirds
same maksitnde in the 1ef star Ino OF 5he
Above these two stars. making with them a
right-aEgled triangle with two equal sides,
Is another star of the third gni1lde-Ep-
silen Pegasi-in the nose of Pegasus. This
| triangle is noticeable figure, and will aid
| in locating tie constellation Aquarius.
| Aquarius.
Aquarius is the eleventh of the zodiacaI
| considerations, Pisces, between it and Aries,
| being the twelfth. 1t is not a particularly
| striking constellation, though it contains
| fair supply of stars of the fourth and
lower magnitudes Upon the charts Aqua
| rius is represented by man in a decidedly
| cramped position pouring water from a
pitcher or ever held in his right hand.
This ever is formed by very pretty
Y-shaped cluster Of four small stars at
the left-the observers left-of the star
Alpha, In the right shoulder. The stream
which issues from 1t, marked, or imagined
to be marked, by a sprinkling of small
stars, descends to the mouth of the South
ern Fish.
Below Beta AQuarii, at distance from
Beta about equal to that of this star from
Alpha, is pair of stars, one Of the third
and one of the fourth magnitude, which
are In the coll of the tail of Capricorn. The
head of this monster, half a goat and half
fish. Is made by another and somewhat
wider pair Of stars, one of the second and
one of the third magnitude. at some dis
lance to the right, or west, Of the first pair.
They lie directly in line with the shoulder
stars of Aquarius and are about equally
distant from Alpha Aquarii and Affair, in
the Eagle The upper and smaller star OF
the pair can be seen by person with good
eyesght to be double, and a small tele-
scope will show that the smaller star in
this naked-eye double Is itself double. This
little group of stars in the head OF Capri
for an opera glass. and Is. indeed, about
all there Is in the constellation to attract
the ordinary star gazer.
A Monster Constellation.
Turning again to- the east, We may see