Vincent Brooks Day & Son Lith *** For the names of the stars, corresponding to the above lettering, refer to the list at p.10. NOVEMBER. HALF-HOUR WITH THE STARS IN NOVEMBER. 21 MAP XI. THE GREAT BEAR is now due north, and at its lowest; the pole-star lying above, and somewhat to to the left of, the pointers. The Guardians of the Pole are below and to the left of the pole-star, and immediately above the last star of the Great Bear's tail. The head of Draco has now come to the north-west, and is not nearly so high above the horizon as it was a month ago. Due north-west, and almost on the horizon, is Alphecca, the other stars of the Crown being also very close to the horizon. Between Alphecca and the Great Bear the head and shoulders of Boötes are still to be seen above the horizon. In the west-north-west, close to the horizon, are the heads of the two giant constellationfigures, Hercules and Ophiuchus. The left-hand and brighter a marks the place of the head of the Serpent-bearer, who is now passing below the horizon. The whole of Hercules, on the other hand, is still above the horizon, and, as usual, inverted. Above is Lyra; and Cygnus now occupies a conspicuous position in the west, midway between the horizon and the point overhead, the cross being still nearly vertical. Aquila, the Eagle, is approaching the western horizon, Altair being in the west-south-west, and raised almost exactly one-fourth of the way towards the point overhead. Above Altair, and towards the left, is an interesting little constellation not marked in the map-Delphinus. It will be recognised at once, though consisting only of small stars, by the resemblance it presents to the figure of a dolphin leaping from the sea. Capricornus is in the south-west, low down; and next to it is Aquarius, covering a wide range of the sky, and reaching almost to the south. Below is Fomalhaut, nearing the south-south-west horizon. The square of Pegasus is now at its highest, the left-hand side of the square vertical, the highest star on that side being Alpherat. Andromeda is still horizontal,-in fact, it is a peculiarity of this constellation that throughout its rise, from near the horizon to near the point overhead, the star Alpherat is always very nearly on the same level with a portion of the line joining the two stars y and 51, which mark the feet of Andromeda. This is true from the epoch indicated in Map VII. to that indicated in Map XI., or through one-third part of the constellation's course round the pole. Cetus is now well raised above the south-south-east horizon. The star a (Menkar) lies to the east of south-east. Immediately above this star is the head of Aries; below it is Eridanus, now rising in the south-east. Orion also is rising, the three stars forming his belt almost upright towards the east. Above them is Aldeboran, and above that star are the Pleiades. Near the point overhead is Cassiopeia; below Cassiopeia, and somewhat to the right, is Perseus; below Perseus, and to the left, is Auriga, with the brilliant Capella; and below Auriga the twin-stars Castor and Pollux have risen, Castor vertically above Pollux. HALF-HOUR WITH THE STARS IN DECEMBER. MAP XII. THE TIP of the Great Bear's tail lies almost due north, and low down. The pointers are towards the north-north-east, and the pole-star is above, and towards the left. The Guardians of the Pole hang below the pole-star, slightly towards the left. Draco hangs below the Lesser Bear, extending around from right to left, where his body bends downwards again. The head of Draco lies between north-west and north-north-west, raised almost exactly one-fourth of the way from the horizon towards the point overhead. Towards the left, slightly lower, is Vega, the companion stars B and y lying on the left. Cygnus is in the west-north-west, the cross again upright, and Arided raised somewhat less than halfway from the horizon towards the point overhead. Above, very near the point overhead, is Cassiopeia. Low down, and somewhat to the right of the western point of the horizon, is Altair, with his companion stars B and y, the former on his left, the latter on his right. The square of Pegasus is still high above the horizon, towards the west-south-west. The highest star of the square is Alpherat, and Andromeda now extends from this point to the point overhead, close to which are both her feet. Aquarius is setting in the west-south-west. Cetus is due south, well raised above the horizon. The space below Cetus, quite bare of conspicuous stars, belongs to the southern constellations Sculptor and Fornax. Above Cetus is Aries, the star a due south, and raised nearly three-fourths of the way from the horizon towards the point overhead. Above the south-south-east horizon is Eridanus, covering a large space of the sky. Orion has now risen well above the South-eastern horizon somewhat easterly. Above him is Taurus, the Pleiades now shining very conspicuously. Near the point overhead is Perseus, the star a being towards the east, and Algol towards the south-east. Below Perseus, somewhat to the left, is Auriga; and below the brilliant Capella are to be seen the twin-stars Castor and Pollux, the constellation Gemini being now in a horizontal position, the feet of the twins (u and y) resting on the Milky Way. Procyon has just risen above the eastern horizon. Towards the north-east the sky is almost blank. But low down may be seen two stars belonging to the Sickle in Leo, now rising above the north-eastern horizon. LONDON: PRINTED BY SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE AND PARLIAMENT STREET |