Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-07-30
THE SKIES IN AUGUST
When the Consultations Are
at Their Best.
THE GREAT DIPPER
SOME INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT
THE NORTH STAR.
Vega and the Suns Motion Through
Space-Planets of the Month
The Southern Sky.
THE GREAT DIPPER


Few planets can be seen during the pres
ent month, but the consultations which are
visible are among the most interesting and
beautiful of the entire year. The accom-
panying map shows the curved vault of the
heavens with all of the brighter stars mark
ed on 1t, exactly as they will appear to an
observer during the early hours of any Au-
gust evening.
If the observer will face the north he will
see, little to the northwest and not far
above the ground, the seven bright stars
which form the well-known figure of the
Great Dipper, or Great Bear. AT this time
of year the Dipper extends nearly straight
up and down, apparently balancing on the
front edge of the bowl
This beautiful constellation was known as
the Bear to all classic writer's. and it is
curious coincidence that the North Ameri
cans Indians, who did not divide the stars
into consultations, called the North Star
the Bear also. The TeutOnic nations called
these stars the wagon; in England they are
still called King Charles Vain, while in
Syria they are known by the more gloomy
title Of the Bier or Great Coffin, probably
on account OF their slow and solemn motion
around the pole. go
If the observer has good eyesight, he will
readily see that the sixth star, the one at
the bend Of the handle, has minute
blush star near IT. This companion star
was regarded by the Arabs as test OF
sight though in recent centuries 1t Is not
difficult The interesting little star whose
name is Alcor, has long been famous in
astronomical folklore. There is an old
story that it is the lost Plead. Electra, VINO
wandered here from her companions, but
the bright and faint star together are more
commonly known as the horse and his rider,
the rider having been permitted as re-
ward to drive so brilliant horse through
heaven from east to west through all eter-
nifty.
Having found the Great Dipper. IL the
observer will draw a straight line through
the two lower stars Of the bowl and i'm
agine 1t extended toward the right for
distance as great as the whole length or
the Dipper 1t will meet a rather bright star
which to sailors and travellers is the most
important Of all the stars In the SKY. rms
Is the North Star. Wherever the observer
NAV be- this star will always be exactly
north Of him, and line joining him with
the north star will be north and south
line.
change its position in the sky, but all of
the other stars move round and round this
star in circles as the hours of the night go
on 1t Is probably this motion which sus-
gested the names of the Great and Lesser
Bear, since each or them
Round about the pole does make
A circle like bear at stake
The Lesser Bear, VI l<lltlc CAN
easily be traced out from the map. begin
ming with the North Star, which is at the
lower end of the handle.
The August Meteors.
To the east of the North Star. Just oppo-
site the Dipper, will be found a group of
bright stars forming the letter w. This is
the constellation Cassopoea, or the lady In
a chair. The chair can be easily traced
out though at present 1t is lying on its
back with the legs extending toward the
east. The large group of stars below the
chair, just above the ground in the north
east, is the constellation Perseus. Ii the OBJ
server will watch this region steadily for
a few moments on any clear evening, from
August 8 to August IL, he will be certain
to see one or more shooting stars, or me-
teors, which will appear in the constella-
ton Perseus and move slowly across the
sky. Should he continue watching all
night he would probably count from forty
to eighty of these shooting stars or even
more; they are of dull yellow color and
move rather slowly out from the constella-
ton in all directions, some of them passing
completely across the sky before they dis
appear.
1t is now well known that shooting stars
are the remains of comets. A comet is an
immense swarm of meteOric particles, prob
ably varying in size from grain of dust
up to several tons. Many of these swarms
pursue definite path around and around
the sun, just as the earth does; the vary
Ing pull OF the sun upon the separate par
tices Of the swarm gradually strings them
out along the path into an enormous band
of meteors. When the earth runs into this
band each little particle strikes the air sur
rounding the earth with such high veloc
ity that its friction with the air sets it on
fire. The burning particle plows its way
through the air at the enormous speed of
nearly seven miles a second, until 1t is en-
tirely burnt out Sometimes the original
meteor is SO large that its white-hot core
reaches the ground, but usually these Wis
itors which the earth rescues from their
Journey through space reach her surface
after months or years only as an impalpa-
BILE dust.
Vega and the SUMS Motion
Both Perseus and Cassiopoea are in the
Milky Way. II the observer will follow
along this band of light he cannot fall to
notice directly overhead the brightest star
Of the northern heavens. This is the star
Vega, which shines with SO intensely blue
light that it has well been called the arc
Of the sky.
1t is well known that our sun is nothing
more than a rather small, blush star, and
that It is moving through space toward this
star Vega, carrying the earth along with 1t,
with velocity OF eleven miles second.
Yet so far is Vega away that 1t will require
nearly half million years for US to make J