The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-09-01

| appears among those with which he is familiar he will at once recognize it. i The reader will find that each star
 group is full of interest, and it makes but little difference with which one he 1 begins. A good star atlas will, of course,
 show very much more even of objects visible to the naked eye than can be 1 indicated On our small monthly map, while many works are available, some | Of which describe only what may be
 seen in comparatively small telescopes. while others tell of thodsands of objects, the greater part of which are very faint. A very good star group for study this
 month is the constellation Capricornus. fer, although this is always far below the equater and so never rises high above the ground in northern attitudes, | it IS now almost due south in the early l evening and is now therefore in the best position for observation. The observer should, of course, first become familiar with ite general outline, which he can I readily do from Figures l and ?, and 1t 1 is of interest, to know the shape and loca- tion of the strange figure, half goat or ibex, and half fish, which from the earliest times has been associated with this constellation.
 In fact, it is thus shown on a frag- ment from Babylonia, made fully 5000 years ago. and we have no record of
 any earlier and different representation of these stars.
 It is of interest to notice that our Tropic of Capricorn on the earth was so named when the southernmost point of the suns path was In this constellation. The slow westward motion of the equi- noxes, called Procession, has now car
 ried this point to the position H (Fig D
 in Sagittarious Corpricornus is the first Of the watery cancellations. being fol-
 lowed by the Northern and Southern
 Fishes, the Water Bearer, the Whale and the River. This whole region is some times called the Sea of the Sky.
 Capricornus is, except for Cancer, the faintest of all the groups of the zo- diac. It was believed that when men were born on the earth their souls de- seconded from heaven through the lat ter constellation and that at death their souls reascended to heaven through Caoricornus. Astrologically. the group was regarded as most favorable, per- haps becouse here the southern motion of the sun ceased and the days begin to lengthen, Nearly 5000 years ago the Chinese are said to have observed coil junction of five of the bright plane.s here. and it was prophesied that when d. u me planets shall meet in this sign t''A r'"rld will be destroyed by great conflagration.s
 r4sen m.;I1 the naked eye the observers can see that the brightest star of the constellation Cat A, Fig. p is a beanti- ful double. both components having d yellow color. A small telescope shows that the west star of the pair Is itself a double sun, while in large tele- scope the east star fss seen to have q very lAint companion southeast of it and this companion has been discovered to be itself a very difficult double. So that the star at A is very remarkable system of no less than i've great suns.
 4 very small telescope will also show that the star at is double; the com
 raaion, which lies almost due west of the principal star, is of decided blue color. The brighter star of this beauti-