The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1917-01-31
E n,niter VIII be Evening Star Of This
short Month, With Venus and
Mercury az Morning
planets.
WHAT IS MILKY WAY?
MANY Theories Concerning This Band
Of stars, Which is Another
Of Months Sky
Features.

Writing of the stars IN iuaiy
q S Brainin, Of the Columbia uni
yersity staff, says:
Jupiter is the evening star tnls
month, and he CLOVIS with undlmlh-
ished brightness, but he is notlceaoly
nearer the horizon at O'CLOCK IMAM
no was month ago. By IL O'Clock ne
sinks we'll down into the mists along
the horizon and out OF sight TOT most
Of us. Saturn is climbing on toward
the meridian just,about this same tlme
and the view spread out before us IS
NOT to be surpassed. Castor, Poiiux
and Saturn are nearly In a stralght
line. in the order named, from tne
north. Saturn, Proclon and SIRIUS
make another straight line, ana just
10 the west is the grandest OF the con-
stellations, Orion. To see this army
rise in the east or to see u spreau
across the southern sky. as we can
this month, is to see the pest tue star
nv heavens can command.
The morning sky Is also OF 1nterest
This month for both Venus and MeT-
curry are visible as morning stars. Inc
latter has his greatest westerly elon-
cation or angular distance from the
SIM on the 18th, and on that date, as
we'll as on several nights preceding
and following. can be observed just
before sunrise. These two planets
will be found quite close to each 9TH
CT.
New Consultations.
This months map shows all or the
costellatibn of the Lion, Leo. In adol-
ton to possessing the first magnitude
star Regulus. the star Denebola ana
the stars which form the sickle. Leo
has peculiar prominence in the order
systems of astronomy, because the
Sun was in this constellation at the
time of the summer solstlce, or mla-
summer several thousand years ago.
at about the time OF the hrst sclen-
title and systematic study OF the SKY.
At the present time the solstlcal point
is in the constellation OF the Twins,
near the mid-point of straight line
drawn from PolIux to Aldebaran In
-Taurus.
Denebola. next to Regulus, the
brightest star in Leo, Is in the eastern
end of the group and marks the hon
tail. From the way the older astron-
omers speak Of this star, 1t appears
that Denebola must have been marked
ly brighter than at present. Just TO
the north of Regulus is bright star
which is Gamma Leonis, famous
double, which can be easily resolved
by small telescope into two compo-
nents of different colors.
The Milky Way.
The Milky Way now stretches
through the zenith in direction al
most north and south, and along Its
path are found many of the most I'M
portant consultations and stars.
Those who live away from the dust
and glare of the large city can trace
Its path and recognize Cepheus and
Cassiopeia to the northward; next,
Perseus with the remarkable variable
star Algol; almost in the zenith is
the constellation of Auriga, the
Charioteer, with the white star
Capella to mark it; then. Gemin1, the
Heavenly Twins and Taurus, Orion,
the two Dog groups. and away into
the southern horizon Is Argo Navis,
the Ship.
But 1T is not alone for the impor.
tant consultations found along Its
path that the Milky Way, or Galaxy,