The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1912-11-07
THE HEAVENS AS SEEN.
IN NOVEMBER
Charles SarNer Tells OF the First
Brilliant Winter Star Groups.

groups and the eastern horizon grows
more attractive every night as the
month advances. The Twin tGemiHiJ
are low in the east at the hour of the
map. Castor and polluX, The sailor
stars. mark the heads OF The Twins.
whose feet are bathed in the stream Of
! The Milky Way Southwark. across tho
Milky Way, the giant Orion most mag
nifieent Of consultations as we'll as
/ one OF the most interesting 10 the
student is mounting into view
Orion stands facing The Bun Tau
RUS, which is perpetually charging
down upon him. lis huge shoulders
are marked by two bright stars, the
larger of which, Betelgeux. is of du
Ter red than its neighbor Aldebaran,
the fiery eye OF The Bull Betelgeux,
or Betelgeuse, as il is often spelled. is
a variable star. 1t is SO far away from
US that astronomers have found ii im-
possible accurately to ascertain its dis
lance and it must be a sun OF immense
magnitude, thousands OF times as bril-
liant as our own star of day Rigel.
"A splendid white star, often beautifully
/ iridescent when near the horizon. is in
one of the giants feet. 1t is at least
as distant and as great as Betelegeux
being, according TO Newcomb, probably
ten thousands times as bright ms our
sun
Orion's belt OF gold, consisting Of
three almost perfectly matched stars
of the second magnitude is midway
Rigel and BetelgeuX. The northern
most of the three lies nearly on til
celestial equator. 1t will be noticed
that the three differ little in color.
the TWO northernmost, Mintaka and AL
Milan. being white. while the other,
Anita, is slightly tinged with yellow
The color contrast is more striking
through an opera glass than TO the
naked eye, The belt is three degrees
in length. and serves as convenient
measuring stick in this part of the
SKY. as do The Pointers five degrees
apart in the polar region. 1t is some
times known here by its English name
OF Tho Yard and Ell.
Southwark from the belt hangs the
giants sword, curved line of stars
one of which has hay appearance
i belonging to no other star visible TO
the naked eye. IN opera glass makes
this popularity more apparent. \
small telescope resolves the star into
several bright points involved in a
shapeless mass Of luminosity
This is the Great Nebua of Orion,
one of the most astonishing objects in
i the heavens. The telescope reveals it
as a tremendous chaos huge beyond
any standard of terrestrial comparison
the primeval stun out of which
systems Of suns and planet are manu-
featured. In fact the process of their
making is here barred to our eyes
For here and there in the disorderly
mass shine conspicuous points of light
Where these ar thickest the nobnlous
SUBSTANCE seems most attenuated. asd
there can be no doubt that these lum-
nous spots are embryo suns, formed
from the substance of the great ne-
bula. Seen with a telescope OF moder
ate power, this nebula is one of the
most impressive sights in the heavens,
and one which never loses its mystery
and charm.
Orions head is represented by taa
group Of small stars Just above the
middle of the line joining the two
shoulder stars
The Plciades have now risen 10 a
point convenient for observation, clear
of the horizon mists and not too high
for the comfort of the watcher. They
will be found almost due east at
the hour of the map and nor quite
half way up TO the zenith. Anybody
with good average eye-siEht can dis
tinguish six or seven stars of this in
teresting group. On a clear moonless
night as many as nine or eleven can
be counted With an opera glass as
many as forty or tifty may be seen,
with others twinkline just at the limits
of visibility There are. celestial
photography shows, more than a00o
stars in this tiny group, many OF them,
Ball says, hundreds OF times more
lustrons than the sun Alcyone. the
brightest of the group, is believed to
be intrinsicalIy many times more bril-
liant than Sirius, the Dog Star. which
rises a couple of hours later than Rigel
and is beyond comparison the bright
EST star in our heavens.
Castor and PoluX are Two stars
around which much legendary interest
fingers The Twins We're sons of Jupi-
ter and Leda, OF NEUROLOGICAL mem
DRY They took part in the famous
voyage after the Golden Fleece and
in other adventures OF note Aztec
their death and translation 10 the
skies, they came to be regarded as the
special patrons of sailors, who relied
on them to counteract the malign in
huence attributed TO Orion and The