Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury [Connecticut]) 1900-1903, 1902-09-05
SEPTEMBER NIGHTS.
What to Look for in the Sky During
s This Month.

What to Look for in the Sky During
s This Month.
The brilliant white star which may
now be sen at about . p m. very near
ly overhead is Vega, in the constella-
ton OF Lyrae. Farther east and more
nearly in the zenith stands Alpha
Cygni, in the tail Of the Swan (Cygnus)
and IN the head of the Northern Cross,
by which name this old constellation
is better known to modern star gazers.
Very nearly IN the south, at three
fifths of the distance from horizon to
zenith, may be seen Affair, in the
Eagle. These stars are classed as first
magnitude, although very noticeably
different in brilfiancy, Vega being near
~ up to the zero magnitude, while
Alpha, or Deneb, Cygni is but a little
above the second. Note the triangle
formed by these three stars, the two
longer sides of which are of about
equal length, and that the star Beta
Cygni stands at about the center of
this triangle.
In the southwest the rudy star
Antares, the heart of the Scorpion,
is about to set, and at about the same
altitude between west ana northwest
stands the brilliant Arcturus The
list of first magnitudes now above the
horizon at the hour named is compile.
ted by the lone star Fomalnaut, in the
Southern Fish, low in the southwest
! The very brilliant star which stands
about midway between Fomalhaut and
Affair is the planet Juniper. Farther
west and directly south Of Affair is
Saturn, appearing as a bright first
magnitude star.
Facing the northeast we have direct
~ in front of us, at about half the dis
lance from horizon to zenith, the w
shaped figure of Cassiopeia sometimes
called the Lady in the Chair, or simply
the Chair. Beneath Cassiopeia stands
Perseus. At the right of Cassiopeia
(the observers right and at about the
same altitude reclines Andromeda. At
the right ofsAndromeda and in mid
fneavens in the east is the great Square
of Pegasus, one star of which-that at
the northeastern angles in the head
of Andromeda, only the remaining
three properly belonging to the Winged
Horse. Above and at little to the
left of Cassiopeia stands Cepheus.
The most striking feature in the
general aspect of the sky is the Milky
Way, which, at 9 p. M, passes directly
overhead, in a direction from southwest
to northeast, embracing or fringing in
its course the consultations Scorpio,
Sagittahius, Ophiuchus, the Eagle, the
Swan, Cepheus, Cassiopeia and Per-
seus. The nature of this remarkable
luminous girdle of the heavens IS still
enigma for astronomers. 1t is, how
ever, now universally admitted that
Herschers explanation of it on his
well-known disc or sgrindstone" n.y.
pothesis of the distribution of the stars
is untenable, and, indeed, Herschel
himself abandoned in his latter writ
ings his early views on this subject,
SO that really there has been no excuse
fer giving these views the prominence
they have had in popular works on
astronomy, except the very question
liable excuse that any explanation of a
mystery is better than no explanation.
AS everyone knows, the general APP
lpearance of the galaxy to the naked eye
is that of an irregular belt of luminous
lclouds, some fairly bright, others less