Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1907-08-29
STAR ..GAZERS ATTENTION
Is Called to the Sky Diagram
for August and September.

1OrOugOuU UulS uUQUl ana Sepuem'
Der the early evening sky is filled
with the typical summer constella.
tions. The last of the winter groups
to linger was the Lion, which in the
beginning Of August is just shrinking
from view in the Northwest. and it is
not until October that the magniti-
cent TauraS, the first of the long
train of brilliant winter stars will
appear. Many of the most interest
ing consultations lie along or in the
summer branch of the Milky Way,
which now firms beautiful arch.
spanning the whole heavens from the
north to the south.
Looking first near the ground in
the north there is seen the group
PerSeuS which contains two most in
tercsting objects. The first of these
is the remarkable variable star Algol.
This usually shines out as a second
magnitude star, but at regular in
terval OF a little less than three days
it suddenly loses fve-SiSthS of its
light, remaining faint for 20 minutes
and then slowly regaining its original
brightness. AlgOl is made up of two
great suns whose diameterS are Sigh
tiy more than 100000 and about
100000 miles respectively, but one of
these suns is comparatively dark. At
perfectly regular intervals the dark
sun passes between us and the bright
er one, and the light of the latter is
nearly all cut off.
AS we pass the bright constellation
of the Eagle and approach Sagittarius
the Milky Way becomes bright and
wonderfully complicated in form. 1t
is here made up of bright patches and
dark regions will occasional long
streams. The Polar Cap will be seen
and a few indistinct shadings, but in
this latitude the fine details will not
be visible. The planet Is now % de-
grees south of the celestial equator, !
it therefore passes exactly overhead
to stars, the whole presenting a
curiously knotted appearance, very
different from the smooth band seen
in this region in winter. Some of the
brighter clouds are remarkably beau
tiful in small telescope; the multi
tude of suns are seen heaped and
in
which suggest the storm clouds, so
often seen on a summer day.
The planet Mars is now moving
slowly eastward through Sagittarius
butts so low down in the sky that a
view of it in a small telescope will
perhaps be disappointing. The ap-
pearance to the observer will proba-
bly, be somewhat as an observer en-
the earth who is in % degrees south
latitude. An expedition has recently
been sent to South America TO make
detailed study, both usually and
phOtOgraphically, of the cannal
system and other features, and as the
planet is now usually near the earth
it is hoped that much additional know
ledge regarding it will be obtained.
Throughout the month of August
socalled shooting stars are very num-
erOuS. If the oberserer will face the
north he will every few minutes see
one of these little points of light ap-
pear, dart swiftly across the sky and
disappear again, very possibly leav-
ing luminous tall behind it. The
greater number of these stars will
move outward in all directions from
PerSuS, they will appear to move
rather swiftly and will be of a yellow
iSh color.