HOW TO KNOW THE STARS
One of the tests a Boy Scout must pass in order to obtain his badge
of merit for starcraft is to be able to name and point out twelve
principal constellations, and every boy, whether he is a scout or not,
should be able to do the same thing for his own good.
The word _constellation_ is formed from two Latin words, the first
being _con_ which means _together_, and the last being _stella_ which
means _star_, or in plain English, constellation means _stars together_.
In your efforts to find the North Star you have already learned one of
the principal constellations—that of the Big Dipper—and to learn more
of them will be even easier and much more fun, for now you have learned
the game.
=The Constellation of Cassiopeia.=—To find the constellation of
_Cassiopeia_ (pronounced Cas´-i-o-pe´-ah) again make use of your star
finder. Remove all the stars from the blackened cardboard and rearrange
them so that the North Star is in the center of the board and the Big
Dipper is on the left hand side with the two pointer stars in a line
with the North Star. On this chart the Big Dipper must be made much
smaller than the one described in the first chapter.
Cut out five more stars from white cardboard and place them on the
opposite side of the board from the Big Dipper in such a manner that
they will form the letter =W= being careful to fasten the stars to the
cardboard so that the letter =W= stands in the exact position shown in
Fig. 13.
A line drawn through the pointers of the Big Dipper and produced will,
as before, pass through the North Star, and if it is extended an equal
distance beyond it, will pass very closely to the constellation of
Cassiopeia; this line will aid you in placing the stars on your chart
in the right positions.
Having thus prepared the star finder, take it out into the open when
night comes on and begin by locating the North Star and the Big Dipper.
Now set the Big Dipper and the North Star of your star chart in a
position which to your eye corresponds to the Big Dipper and the North
Star in the sky. Follow the line from the pointer stars to the North
Star and beyond when the great letter =W= which is the constellation of
Cassiopeia, will stand out so clear and bright that you will wonder why
you have never seen it before.
[Illustration: FIG. 13.—CONSTELLATION OF CASSIOPEIA.]
Fig. 14 shows this group of stars and the outline of the unhappy
Cassiopeia who is as often standing on her head as on her feet, but it
requires the imagination of an Arabian star-gazer to see the likeness.
=The Little Dipper.=—Although some of the stars which form the _Little
Dipper_ are very faint it is included in our list of 12 principal
constellations for two reasons: first, because it contains the very
important North Star, and second, because it is easy to find.
[Illustration: FIG. 14.—CASSIOPEIA AS THE ARABS SAW HER.]
[Illustration: FIG. 15.—THE LITTLE DIPPER OR LITTLE BEAR.]
The North Star is the last star in the handle of the Little Dipper. The
two outer stars which form the bowl of the Little Dipper, and which are
called the _Guardians of the Pole_, are quite bright, and after a few
trials you can easily put in the other stars that are much fainter, and
so complete in your mind’s eye the outline of the Little Dipper as you
have it on your chart. Fig. 15 shows the arrangement of the stars in
the Little Dipper and the relative position of the Little Dipper to the
Big Dipper.
The Little Dipper is also called the _Little Bear_ and this latter name
when done into Latin becomes _Ursa Minor_, which is its scientific
name. How the Little Dipper was made into a Little Bear by the ancients
is shown in Fig. 16.
=The Great Square of Pegasus.=—Unlike the Big Dipper, the Little Dipper
and Cassiopeia, which are so close to the North Star that they never
set and hence can be seen at any hour of the night and at any season of
the year, we now come to some constellations which are quite distant
from the North Star and are for this reason to be seen only at certain
times of the year. The _Great Square of Pegasus_ can always be seen on
clear, crisp nights during the autumn months.
[Illustration: FIG. 16.—THE LITTLE DIPPER MADE INTO A LITTLE BEAR.]
To find a constellation that is as far away from the North Star as
Pegasus (pronounced Peg’-a-sus) is not an easy thing to do, at least
the first time you try it, for while our chart is marked with a
straight line the sky is like a great bowl and a line produced from the
North Star to Pegasus will, in consequence, not be a straight line, but
a curved line. However, with your star finder charted like the diagram
shown in Fig. 17 you will be able to locate Pegasus with very little
effort.
After taking off all the stars from the cardboard surface, pin or paste
the North Star to the lower left hand corner of the black surface of
the cardboard and place the five stars of Cassiopeia in their proper
positions. Now draw a line from the North Star through Cassiopeia just
below the star marked β which is the Greek letter _beta_ (see Appendix
C) and produce, or extend that line until the edge of the cardboard
is reached. On the extreme right hand end of this line set two stars,
which we will also call pointer stars, and place two more stars above
them so that a nearly perfect square will be formed as shown in Fig. 17.
[Illustration: FIG. 17.—THE GREAT SQUARE OF PEGASUS.]
To find Pegasus take the star chart out-of-doors, say some evening in
November about 9 o’clock, for the Great Square will then be on the
_meridian_, that is, on a line passing over your head and which runs
north and south across the sky. This time, instead of looking down on
the chart, as you did in finding the Big Dipper and Cassiopeia, turn
the board bottom side up, as shown in Fig. 18, but still keeping the
cardboard North Star pointing north and the four stars of Pegasus
pointing toward the south.
By looking over your chart into the sky and following an imaginary line
with your eye from the North Star through Cassiopeia past the star β
(beta) and lengthening this line toward the equator in the southern
sky you will come upon four bright, white stars which form the Great
Square of Pegasus and you have added another and fourth constellation
to your list.
The practical value of knowing the mighty constellation of Pegasus is
that you can always find the north, by means of its friendly stars,
though the North Star, the Big and Little Dippers and Cassiopeia are
hidden by clouds. To find the north you only have to wait until Pegasus
gets very high in the sky and run an imaginary line through the pointer
stars of Pegasus and produce it until it reaches the northern horizon.
[Illustration: FIG. 18.—HOLDING THE CHART OF PEGASUS OVERHEAD.]
The Great Square of Pegasus was fancifully pictured by the ancients as
a _Flying Horse_ and, curiously enough, with only half a body at that,
as shown in Fig. 19. To those who do not know the lore of the stars it
is not so easy to see in the Great Square the fabled winged steed who
still continues his flight through the sky just as he did when he was
invented over four thousand years ago.
[Illustration: FIG. 19.—THE FLYING HORSE OF PEGASUS.]
[Illustration: FIG. 20.—FIGURE OF A TRAPEZIUM.]
=The Mighty Orion.=—The brightest constellation in the whole sky is
_Orion_ (pronounced O-ri´-on), the Great Hunter, as the ancients liked
to imagine this group of stars.
With the exception of the Big Dipper, Orion is the easiest of all the
constellations to find provided you look for it at the right time of
the year, which is during the winter months.
To locate Orion cut out of cardboard seven large stars and three small
stars. Near the lower edge of the blackened cardboard pin two large and
two small stars to form what is called a _trapezium_, that is, four
straight lines forming a figure, none of which are parallel, as shown
in Fig. 20. About halfway across the figure pin three large stars in a
row, at equal distances apart and tilted a little, as shown in Fig. 21.
[Illustration: FIG. 21.—CONSTELLATION OF ORION.]
[Illustration: FIG. 22.—ORION THE MIGHTY HUNTER.]
These three stars form the _Belt of Orion_, for a mighty hunter must
needs have a belt, and this belt of bright stars is one of the best
known groups in the whole sky. Across the belt and nearly at right
angles to it pin three small stars; these small stars form the sword or
dagger of the fanciful hunter but they are of more use to us than to
him, as will be seen presently.
At the top of the star chart pin the North Star so that it will be in
a direct line with the three small stars forming the _Sword of Orion_.
Your star chart of Orion is now ready to be compared with the one in
the sky. The best time to find Orion is in January about 9 o’clock,
when the constellation is high in the southern sky, though he may be
seen shining in all his glory all winter long.
On taking your star chart out-of-doors hold it overhead just as you did
in finding the Great Square of Pegasus; now look toward the south until
your eyes rest on the equator running across the southern sky from east
to west and you will see the mighty Orion, though you may not recognize
the lion skin he holds.
Having found Orion draw an imaginary line through the three small
stars called his sword and produce this line until it meets the North
Star. Once you have found Orion you will never again require the help
of a star chart to locate him, but it is a good plan to look him up as
often as you can, and to draw the imaginary line through his sword and
on to the North Star, for should you ever lose your way or want to find
the north and the North Star should be hidden by clouds a line through
the Sword of Orion when Orion is in the south will direct you as
certainly as the needle of a compass. Fig. 22 shows the fabulous Orion
as a giant hunter holding the skin of a lion which he killed, according
to Arabian star-lore.
[Illustration: FIG. 23.—CONSTELLATION OF AURIGA.]
[Illustration: FIG. 24.—AURIGA THE SHEPHERD.]
=Auriga, the Charioteer or Shepherd.=—After finding Orion the
constellation of _Auriga_ (pronounced Aw-re´-ga) will get right in
your way so that you cannot by any chance miss it. This is because
the chief star in Auriga and whose name is _Capella_ (pronounced
Ca-pel´-la) lies nearly on the line drawn through the Sword of Orion
and produced to the North Star as shown in Figs. 21, 23 and 27.
Auriga was pictured by the Assyrians as a charioteer, but the early
Greeks saw in this constellation a good shepherd, who carried a goat
on his back and two kids in his arms. The brilliant star Capella is
supposed to be the goat and the three small stars which form a triangle
close to Capella are the kids as shown in Fig. 24.
When the North Star cannot be seen the star Capella will prove a useful
aid with Orion in finding the north; and since it is just about half
way between Orion and the North Star it may again be useful in judging
the distance of the North Star from Orion when the former star is
obscured.
=The Constellation of Taurus.=—The last constellation which need
concern us here is _Taurus_ (pronounced To´-rus) the Bull. Taurus
is one of the constellations of the _zodiac_ of which we will have
something to say in Chapter XI. By the time you have learned the
foregoing constellations you will be able to locate Taurus without
using your star chart, for it lies to the north of Orion, to the south
of Auriga and a little to the west of both of these constellations as
you will see in Figs. 25 and 27.
[Illustration: FIG. 25.—CONSTELLATION OF TAURUS.]
[Illustration: FIG. 26.—TAURUS THE BULL.]
The little group of stars nearby is the _Pleiades_ (pronounced
plē-ya-dez), and is a part of the constellation of Taurus. There are
six small but bright stars grouped closely together when seen by the
ordinary person, but if you have very sharp eyes you may be able to
make out one or two more.
It is believed that the stars of Taurus were the first to be woven into
a group or constellation by the ancients, and it is thought that the
_Bull of Light_, as Taurus was called, was known long before the time
of Abraham, or over four thousand years ago. Fig. 26 shows Taurus as
the Egyptians saw him. The bright red star which sets in the right eye
of Taurus is called _Aldebaran_ (pronounced Al-deb´-a-ran) and is one
of the brightest stars in the sky. In the star chart shown in Fig. 27
the different constellations you have learned are grouped together in
the same positions in which they are placed in the sky.
[Illustration: FIG. 27.—STAR MAP SHOWING SIX CHIEF CONSTELLATIONS.]
Six stars of the first magnitude, that is 6 of the 20 stars which
shine the brightest (see Appendices F and G), are also shown on the
chart, Fig. 27. By following the equator from west to east across
the bowl of the sky, and which runs right through the middle of
Orion, you will find to the west and south of it the brightest star
in the heavens—_Sirius_, the Dog Star, so named because it is in the
constellation of _Canis Major_, which is Latin for Big Dog.
Of the other stars on the chart, Capella in Auriga is the next
brightest star, and _Arcturus_ (pronounced Arc-tu´-rus) which can
be found by following the handle of the Big Dipper, is third in
brilliancy. The fourth place is held by _Rigel_ (pronounced Rai´-gel)
in Orion; _Betelgeux_ (pronounced Bet-el-gerz´) in Taurus is fifth in
order, and _Aldebaran_ in Orion comes last.
There are many other constellations and a large number of other stars
but when you are able to name and point out those described in this
chapter you will have made a very good running start.