That is Aldebaran, the Bull’s eye. Your Pleiades are in the Bull’s
neck. The Hyades are the cluster near the eye.
What is the great star, a little out of the road, between Aldebaran and
the Belt?
That is Betelgeux, in the shoulder of Orion, who is looking up to the
Bull. Betelgeux is on the north side of the Belt; and Rigel, of Orion’s
heel, is at the same distance to the south of the Belt. Aldebaran,
Rigel, and Menkar, of the Whale’s nose, form an equilateral triangle.
Aries the Ram is to the right of the Bull, near where his tail should
be, and Orion is to the left or east, but a little southerly. But now
for the Twins.
Are they the two right north of Procyon, and forming the corner of a
right-angled triangle with Betelgeux and Procyon?
They _are_ the Twins, Castor and Pollux, though the latter is the
larger. Cancer the Crab is to the left of the Twins.
I cannot see so much as the claw of him. But I see a splendid star
further to the left, with Procyon between it and the Belt.
That is Regulus in Leo the Lion. It is one of his forepaws, and beyond
to the left is Deneb, of the Lion’s tail. The little lion is north of
Leo, and between it and the Great Bear, the favourite constellation of
England.
Virgo the Virgin should come next. I can see Spica, which is twice as
far from the Cross northward as the Cross is from the Pole.
Spica is in the ear of corn held in the Virgin’s hand. The Virgin’s
head touches the Lion’s tail at Deneb.
What a tall lady she must be! But what is that staring star forming the
head of a triangle with Deneb and Spica?
The Arcturus of Job, in the knee of Bootes the Husbandman, standing on
Mount Moenalus. The small stars between Arcturus and Deneb are in the
hair of Berenice. The Northern Crown, between Hercules and Bootes, is
seen nearly overhead in England.
You have got a long way from us now, father. Please come back to the
Virgin.
Well, then, you know the Southern Crown, at any rate. Sagittarius is
right over it northward, while Antares of Scorpio is to the right a
little.
The stars of Libra the Balance must be somewhere between Spica and
Antares, I suppose.
The two stars together in the equator, just north of Scorpio, are in
the old man Ophiuchus, who is south of Hercules. There is a serpent on
each side of him.
What nice company!
Yes, with the club of Hercules shaking over his head, and Poniatowski’s
Bull ready to toss his shoulder. But he has the shield of the
Polish hero Sobieski behind him, which hangs, too, over the head of
Sagittarius.
How shall I find Aquarius?
He has his foot on Fomalhaut, he leans back on Capricornus, and has
Pisces, the Fishes, on the other side.
What is the great star north of Capricornus?
That is Altair, in Aquila the Eagle, whose wings are spread over the
equator. Aquila is between Ophiuchus and Aquarius.
As we have got over Aquarius, and come to Pisces, which are over Cetus
the Whale, I suppose we are at Aries again.
We are. But I should like you to know that Pegasus, the Flying Horse,
is over Aquarius, and that the Swan and Lyre are between that and
Hercules, and north of the Eagle. Taking a line from the south pole
through the Whale’s tail, we have a bright star in the back of Pegasus,
called Algenib, not far from the junction of the equator and ecliptic
in Pisces.
The star beyond Algenib, further north, is larger, though.
Alpherat is its name, and it is one of the eyes of Andromeda, the lady
with the chains on her hands.
O, I know all about that story, father. The ancients said she was
fastened to a rock in the sea, and a monster was gnawing at her. But a
warrior, called Perseus, came with his sword and delivered her.
Then, as you have Andromeda’s eye, you can fancy the Zodiacal Fish
biting her, and Perseus with his sword to the left. There is a triangle
between Aries and Andromeda.
What a dazzling star that is, forming the north corner of a triangle
with Aldebaran and the Twins.
Yes, Capella, or the Little Kid, in the arms of Auriga, is certainly
very fine. Auriga’s foot is on the Bull’s head. Half-way from Alpherat
of Andromeda to Capella, is Medusa’s Head, just over the Pleiades.
We have gone round, I think, father, but I do wish I could see the old
Bear again.
You have only to imagine yourself following out a line from the Belt
through Castor and Pollux.
Yes, but I should have to dive down into the ocean to reach his claws.”