The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1916-05-03
KEY TO SUMMER
STARS IN EAST
Winter Consultations Now
Below Western
Horizon.

It is not difficult to locate the con-
ste1Iations for a certain season of tie
year if we once fix in our minds the
positions of two or three of the more
prominent groups. Let US consider
first, the two consultations known as
Ursa Major or the sBig Dipper'' and
Leo the Lion. Both are conspicuous
in the spring, and we have no trouble
in locating them at once.
We take for the time of observation
10 o'clock the first of May; 9 o'clock
the middle of the month, and s O'Clock
the last of May. A month earlier these
two groups were directly on the merid-
ian; now they as we'll as all the other
have apparently shifted
about 80 degrees westward. The win
ter considerations have sunk below the
western horizon and the considerations
that are overhead in summer evenings
are now appearing on the eastern hori-
son. We find that Dehebo1a has taken
the place of Regu1us as the star near
est to the meridian at this time in the
evening. In the north just west of
the meridian we recognize at a glance
the seven stars of the Big Dipper, or
Great Bear, and parallel with this
constellation and south of it Leo tie
Lion can be seen facing westward.
His head is outlined by a sickle
sha ped group of stars, six in ALL with
end of the handle. Eastward we see
the other stars that outline the body.
DeneboIa, g, star of the second nagni-
tude,3 marks the tail and is about 20
degrees east of Regu1us./ With these
reference points we can easily locate
other conspicuous cancellations.
Southeast of Leo is Virgo, a large Y
shaped constellation, which contains
the beautiful white star Spica, and
again southeast from Virgo is the
small constellation Libra. marked by
four rather faint stars. To the south
west of Spfca is a more conspicuous
group of stars of the second and third
magnitude in the form of a quadri-
lateral. This is the constellation Cor
vus, and just west of Corvus is the less
conspicuous group known as Crater.
In the southern skies we also have
the long constellation of Hydra which
exaends from a point about 5 degrees
southwest of Regulus where a small
group of faint stars mark the head to
a, point in the southeast, where the
fiery Antares is now rising in the con-
ste1Iation Scorpio Hydra contains. one
second magnitude star known as AL
phand or Cor Hydra, stading very
much alone. 1t is about 20 degrees
south of Regulus adj a little to the
westward.
This long but rather faint con-
stellation of Hydra extends nearly
ninety degrees across the southern sky
below Leo Virgo, Crater, Corvus and
Libra Let us return now to the
Great Bear which, by the way. is a
much more extensive constellation
than the part which forms the Big
Dipper or the tail and body of Ursa
Major. for a considerable portion of
the space south and east of this CON
f1guration known as the Big Dipper
belongs to Ursa Major It is occu-
pied, however, by inconspicuous stars
On a line between the end star in the
handle of the Dipper and Denebola
are situated two very interesting
though small considerations; Canes
Venatici also contains some fine
doubles and a beautiful star cluster,
as well as the noted whirlpool Ne.