Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1903-03-10
THE SKIES IN MARCH.
Locating the Celestial Equator and
the EcIiptic.
Orioin Of Names is Often Shrouded in
Undergraduates of the Month.


contrast with .his brilliantly decorated
region the southeastern quadrant. IN
which the principal constellation is the
enormously long Hydra. or Water
Snake. contains but one star which
reaches the second magnitude. if we
except Spica. now barely above the
horizon. little south of east This
lone second-ma gnitude star is Cor
Hydrae the Hydra's Heart. 1t stands
about midway between the horizon ard
the zenith. little east Of the meridian
The Hydra's Head. marked by snort
curved line of three or four stars, OF
which the central and brightest is OK
the third magnitude, is above ana at
the right of the heart" and very near
~ south.
Trace with a finger Il line on thc
sky. beginning with the exact western
point in the horizon, passing through
the center of Orion. five degrees south
of Procyon and on to the exact eastern
point in the horizon. You have located
the celestial equator. All stars north
Of this line are in the northern hemis-
phcre: all stars south of it in the
southern hemisphere. At the point
where ii crosses the meridian it's dis
lance from your zenith measured in de-
grees is the same as the latitude of
your station.
Barely above the horizon, between
west and northwest. may be seen the
pair of stars which mark the head of
Aries. beginning at d point in the
horizon about midway between these
stars ard the exact west. sweep a sec
| ond line on the sky. passing between
| the Pleiades and Adlebaran, about five
degrees south of PolluX-the more
| southerly of the Twins, now nearly
| OverhH ad-clOse to the star Regulus, in
| the handle of the Sickle. and on to the
| eastern horizon. striking it at point
just north of Spica. and you will have
located the half of the suns apparent
path through the heavens, which Is
now above the horizon. This is the
line known in astronomy as the eclip-
tic.
The ecliptic and the equator are both
great circles of the heavens, which
cross each other at two diametrically
opposite points. one of which is at
about three fifths of the distance from
Eegulus to Spica.
The eclintic runs along .he center OF
the belt of twelve considerations known
as the Zodiac-that is. the animal
girdle The six Zodiacal constella lions
now above the horizon at 9 o'clock,
named i'm order from west to east this
being the direction in which the sun
passes through them are Aries. the
Ram: Taurus. the Full. Gemini. the
Twins: Cancer. the Crab: Leo, the
Lion. and Virgo. the Maiden.
Atiac iS mark ed nv a main. of Ia of
the third magnitude. rather closer
than the two pointers in the Great
Dipper, which range in a direction
northeast and southwest. These two
stars are in the Rams Horns as the
figure is depicted upon the old celestial
charts The upper and brighter cf
the two is Alpha Arietis and is COM
monty called. for short, simply Arietis.
The lower is Sheretan. Near this lower
star is d star of the fourth magnitude,
" hich is placed by the chartmaller in
the Rams left ear These three stars
constitute practically tn" whole Of the
constellation Aries, there being in it
no other star Of above the fifth magni-
tude. How they came to suggest the
notion of ram is one of the thousand
and one mysteries which still envciop
the old consultations in spite of all
that has been written in explanation
of them. Aries is the first of the
zodiacal consultations. and in q man
ner leads tho flock. and it has been
suggested that ;he constellation owes
it's name to this circumstance. The
explanation is rather far fetched and
is given here for only what it is
worth.
Taurus. the Bull, is Il constellation
nearly as fragmentary as the RAM 1t
consists of little more than Il head and
shoulders and pair of very long horns.
The head is marked by the star Aide
baran. of the first magnitude and the
N-shape cluster of the Hyades. The
still more beautiful cluster of, the Plei-
AIDES is in the bulls shoulder. The tips
of the horns are marked by two stars
of the third magnitude. which form
rather noticeable pair about twice as
wide as that in Aries, and which lie
nearly midway between Capella. in
Auriga. and Betelgeuse, in the right
| shoulder of Orion. The most bull-like
features of this constellation is the face,
| formed by the Hyades, the bright star
| Aldebaran making an excellent eye.
| Indeed. this star is sometimes called
| the Bulls Eye. 1t seems not unlikely
| that this very suggestive face was the
| germ of the constellation.
| Proceeding eastward from Taurus
| we come next to the constellation Gem
| mi. the Twins. the two brighter stars
| of which Castor and PolluX may now
| be found at o'clock. almost directly
| overhead. Upon the chart the Twins
are represented as two youths the two
| bright stars being in their heads, while
their feet are about midway between
their heads and the constellation Orion,
now in midheaVens in the southwest.
No one who has ever searched this part
of the heavens for these twin youths
will need to be told that they are not
here. Unquestionably. the original
Twins We're simply these bright stars
and nothing more. They We're double,
or twin stars. not twin youths. The
| chart maker alone is responsible for
these figures. Furthermore, the names
Castor and Pollux do not belong to
these stars by right, but to an entirely
| =; ~, Of twins ha heroes 0f