The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-07-06

the stars and all bodies seen through the atrnogphere have their position apparerlt-
 y diaplaced. In this manner t,e tune
 of sunrise in our latitude is accelerated from 2 to minutes. sunset Is delayed by tho same amount, and the day IS heightened by refraction from L., , minutes .at the expense of the n'sht. Twilight is caused by the renscuon or liuht to the observer from the hiRher regions of the atmosphere. 1t is due to reflection, as mentioned above, Tom dust
 notes, also from minute cryst hs cl zee and salt, from infinitesimal drt ps or water. It is possible that the pure ESse themselves have some power Of renectlns light. The duration of twilight depends upon the latitude, and the height ot the atronsnbere. In our latitude twilight varies from two hours at the longest days in summer to an. hour and half. In higher latitudes it lasts longer n cer- tain high attitudes 1t lasts all night Tn
 midsummer, and at the north pole Tor more than two months. thus to some extent relieving the dreariness of the lt ns winter nights of the Arctic reRionJ
 The skies present an attractive p'ture in a cloudless night at ny ssasCn or the year; but there are cersain constella- tions which, by the peculiar Con 'snra- ton of their constituent stars and tnelr briliianee, enhance the intrinsic Les uty of the celestial dome. To ne hter uh- aiestionably belongs the zodiacal cen- stellation Scorpio, which in the early hours of July evenings is slsuased light above us Among the twelve oonsteila- tions that constitute that remarsaole belt, the zodiac, 1t Is to Scorpio that the Falm of beauty must needs be conceded. The general conflguration of this constellation ia that. of boys kite with A long streaming tall extending far down to the south and east and containing several pairs ,Qf stars. The brightest of the stars or Scorpio Is 4s.pha Scorpii, or Antaresi word that means the rival of Mars, whose Greek name IS Ares. The name is not inappropriate, as it certainly rivals Mars Nn the hery req tinge it possesses. Antares is first magnitude star and double, the compan- ion being of gren color, but not easily seen with a small telescope. The sGeond- magnitude star Beta is in the arch of the kite bow, about 8 degrees ncrsh- west of Antares. The star Gamma Is so near the constellation Libra that enc ,youId be in doubt whether to conccde if to Scorpio or to Libra. In fact, there prevails considerable confusion among uranographers as to the boundary line of these two consultations. Besides the stars mentioned, Scorpio possesses a con siderable number of second and thlrd
 magnitude stars-a fact that renders 1t such brilliant star-picture. North of it and also on the meridiP ire 5he con- steIlations Ophiuchus, .Ae Serpent Bearer" and Serpens, which are SO closely connected as to justify their treat ment as one constellation. OphiIchus probably refers to the great physician Aesculapius He stands with his feet on Scorplo and grasps with both hands the huge Serpent. the stars of the latter forming a large semi-circle. The shoulder of Ophiuchus is marked by triangle, whose vertices are Alpha, or Ras Alhague. Beta and Kappa. ke hcro's right hand is marked by the two stars Delta and Epsilon, both being at very short distance from each other. Alpha Serpentis. or Unuk, is east of the head of Ophiuchus and Serpens that certainly form a striking picture resembling a hanging lamp and deserving to be per- manently adopted by all uranographers. The topmost star in this group is Delta Serpentis, to which the imaginary chains are attached, and Unuk forms the pEin- cipal star in the lamp chimney. The lamp itself is marked by Delta Ophiuchi and the pendant by Zeta, Eta and Theta. The attentive reader cannot fail 10 iccog- nize the picture from this brief descrip- tion. North of Ophiuchus and close to Lyra is the fine constellation Hercules. which is most readily recognized by a large keystone-shaped qusdrilateeal and by a still larger triangle south Of it. The stars constituting the quadrill teral are Epsilon. Zeta. Eta and Pi. while those of the triangle are Alpha, or Ras Algethi. Beta and Delta. The triangle marks the head and the two shoulders and the quadrilat@ral part of the demigod's back. Alpha Herculis is a hne Gvuble