THE MUSIC
OF THE SPHERES
_A Nature Lover's Astronomy_
BY
FLORENCE ARMSTRONG GRONDAL
NEW YORK
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
1926
_All rights reserved_
IN
GRATEFUL APPRECIATION
OF HIS KINDLY AND
HELPFUL INTEREST
THIS BOOK IS
DEDICATED TO
SAMUEL L. BOOTHROYD
PROFESSOR IN CHARGE OF
THE FUERTES OBSERVATORY
CORNELL UNIVERSITY
ITHACA, N. Y.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER
I BEHOLD--THE STARS!
II AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STARS
III THE ROMANCE OF THE STARS
IV THE TWO SKY DIPPERS AND DRACO, THE DRAGON
V THE STORY OF ANDROMEDA IN STARS
Cepheus, the King--Cassiopeia, the Queen--Perseus, the
Hero--Andromeda, the Princess--Pegasus, the Flying Horse--Cetus, the
Sea-monster.
VI THE PARADE OF THE ZENITH CONSTELLATIONS
Leo, the Lion--Berenice's Hair--Boötes, the Herdsman--The
Northern Crown--Hercules, the Giant--Lyra, the Harp--The
Northern Cross.
VII THE SPECTATORS OF THE ZENITH PAGEANT
Aquila, the Eagle--Delphinus, the Dolphin--Sagittarius, the
Archer--Hydra, the Watersnake--Auriga, the Charioteer.
VIII GREAT STARS OF THE SOUTH
Spica--Antares--Formalhaut--Sirius.
IX THE STORY OF ORION AND TAURUS, THE BULL
The Lion's Skin--Betelgeuse, on Orion's Shoulder--Rigel, on
Orion's Foot--Orion's Head--Orion's Belt--The Great Nebula
of Orion--Orion's Two Dogs, Canis Major and Canis Minor--Taurus,
the Bull--The Hyades--The Pleiades-Castor and Pollux,
the Heavenly Twins.
X ALONG THE MILKY WAY
The Milky Way--The Two Crosses--The Magellanic Clouds.
XI OUR NEAREST STAR--THE SUN
The Surface of the Sun--An Eclipse of the Sun.
XII THE CHILDREN OF THE SUN
The Planets--The Planetoids--Comets--Meteors.
XIII VENUS AND JUPITER
The Bright Planet of Venus, the Goddess of Love--The Giant
Planet of Jupiter, the King of the Gods.
XIV MARS AND SATURN
The Red Planet of Mars, the God of War--The Ringed Planet
of Saturn, the God of Time.
XV MERCURY, URANUS AND NEPTUNE
The Tiny Planet of Mercury, the Messenger of the Gods--The
Strange Planet of Uranus, the Ancient God of the Heavens--The
Boundary Planet of Neptune, the God of the Sea.
XVI THE EARTH--A PLANET AT CLOSE RANGE
XVII THE EARTH'S MOON--A NEAR VIEW OF A SATELLITE
PRONOUNCING DICTIONARY
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND LITERATURE CITED
INDEX
FULL PAGE PLATES
A Treasure Trove of 50,000 Stars
An Irregular Nebula in Scutum Sobieski
The Two Sky Dippers and Draco, the Dragon
The Sky Drama of Andromeda
The Story of Andromeda in Stars
The Great Nebula of Andromeda
The Zenith Pageant
A Star Cluster in Hercules
The Ring Nebula in Lyra
A Dark Nebula in Ophiuchus
The Pageant Spectators
The Four Great Southern Stars
The Battle of Orion
The Dark Bay Nebula
Nebulosity in the Pleiades
Stages in Eclipse of Sun
Meteoric Shower of 1833
Jupiter and Four of His Moons
Saturn and His Rings
The Earth, Seen from a Distance
Columbian Lava Flow in the State of Washington
Southern Portion of Moon
Northern Portion of Moon
Lunar Crater Copernicus
ILLUSTRATIONS IN TEXT
Big Dipper
Earth's Crust
The Ancient World
Cygnus, the Swan
Orientation of Orion
Orientation of Orion
The Big Dipper
Arcturus
The Big Dipper Stars
The Little Dipper
Orientation of Little Dipper
The Great Bear's Feet
The Two Bears and Draco, the Dragon
The Little Bear's Tail
The Great Bear
Draco
Former Pole Star
Cepheus
Cassiopeia and Cepheus
Cepheus symbol
Perseus, Andromeda and Pegasus
Perseus and the Star Algol
The "W" of Cassiopeia
Orientation of Cassiopeia
Stars in Cassiopeia
Stars in Cassiopeia
Perseus
The Chain of Andromeda
Stars of Andromeda
The Square of Pegasus
Job's Coffin
Stars of Pegasus
The Winged Horse
Cetus
Cetus, the Whale
Myra, the Wonderful
Triangulum, Aries and Pisces
Leo
Leo, the Lion
Triangle of Leo
Constellation of Leo
Radiant Point of November Meteors
Radiant Point of Shooting Stars
Præsepe
Berenice's Hair
Ancient Position of Leo's Tail
Present Configuration of Leo
Boötes
Arcturus
Canes Venatici
Parallax Angles of Star
The Northern Crown
Ariadne's Crown
Hercules
The Head Stars of Hercules and Ophiuchus
Cluster of Hercules
Lyra
Precessional Orbit of the Pole
Stars and Ring Nebula in Lyra
Harp of Orpheus
The Great Northern Cross
The Cross in the West
Cygni
Albireo, on Cygnus, the Swan
Aquila
The Three Birds
The Shaft of Altair
Delphinus
Delphinus, the Dolphin
Sagittarius
The Bow, the Scorpion and Hydra's Tail
The Bow and Arrow
The Milk Dipper
The Southern Pointers
Hydra
Double Stars on Hydra
Constellation of Hydra
Auriga
Capella and the Kids
Perseus and Capella
The Big Dipper and Capella
Locating Vega, Capella and Arcturus
Spica
Field of nebulæ
Relative Position of Virgo
Relative Position of Arcturus and Spica
Antares
Scorpio
Formalhaut
Urn of Aquarius
The Sky Sea
Sirius
Orion and the "Dog Star"
The winter battle
Orion
The Lion's Skin
Betelgeuse
Rigel
Eridanus
Orion, the Hunter
Orion's Head
Orion's Belt
Nebula of Orion
Orion's Dogs
Taurus
Taurus with Horns
The Hyades
The Pleiades
The Stars of the Pleiades
The December Sky
Castor and Pollux
The Heavenly Twins
Gemini, Orion and Taurus
Relative Positions of Constellations
Tanabata and Hirkboshi
The Two Crosses
Alpha and Beta Centauri
Solar Prominences
Hydrogen Flames on Sun
Sun Spots
Direct Photograph of Sun
Annular Eclipse
Position of Sun, Moon and Earth During Eclipse
The Solar Corona
Orbits of Outer Planets
Plane of Earth's Orbit
Orbit of Comet
Tail of Comet
Comet 1910
Phases of Venus
Venus, showing Crescent Phase
The Planet Jupiter
Polar Caps and Surface Markings on Mars
Rings of Saturn
Aspects of Saturn's Rings
Earth's Shadow
Earth-lit New Moon
The "seas" of the Moon
Mountains of the Moon
"Seas" of the Crescent Moon
Craters of the Moon
Plato
Lunar Craters
THE MUSIC OF THE SPHERES
[Figure 01: A TREASURE-TROVE OF 50,000 STARS.
Photograph of the star cluster in Hercules by Mount Wilson Observatory
through the 60-inch reflector.]
THE MUSIC OF THE SPHERES
CHAPTER I
BEHOLD,--THE STARS!
HOW thrilling to read of great hunts for treasure! Yet the pirates who
dug their spades into the earthy loam never cached such jewels as are
hidden along the dark slopes of the sky. Armed with a chart of the
heavens, the fledgling astronomer prods about in the depths of the
gloom, shovels the dark with the aid of his telescope, and
discovers,--even more surely than the pirate his chest,--some wonderful
treasure. Sometimes the find is a star-like diamond, a twinkling
emerald, a fire-filled ruby or a cluster of star gems of colorful hues,
but it may be, too, a profusion of riches, heaped in a magnificence that
leaves one breathless.
One must know, however, before adventuring along the skyways, just where
to look for these starry jewels. The air must also be clear and the eye
color-true. In the tropics where the atmosphere is more transparent, the
colors seem deeper and more beautiful. This is also true on deserts, on
the ocean or on mountain tops.
To those who do not know that stars, even as jewels, have individuality,
the various colorings will come as a special surprise. _Vega_, for
instance, is large and most _wonderfully blue_, rising in the far
northeast during the first of May; _Arcturus_, appearing at the same
time near the zenith, is tinted like a _King Midas' rose_. On the first
of June, _Antares_ glows like a scarlet-shaded lamp hung low in the
southeast, while in the northeast, _creamy-hued Capella_
scintillates like the electrified cross-section of a rainbow. In the
case of a double star where the colors are sharply contrasted--gold and
blue or scarlet and green--the effect is startling and very beautiful.
Weird looking purple stars and wan lavender ones may also be found, but
all these lovely tints and shades are hidden among the hosts of more
common yellow and white stars, and if one does not know just where to
find them it is like hunting for treasure without a chart.
When the world was young, people gazed in never-ending wonder as the
darkness of the heavens filled up with the lights of stars. According to
an old Malayan story the stars were the children of the Moon-mother, who
brought her children out only at night when the jealous sun, who had no
children, was far away on the other side of the earth. The ancient
Greeks believed that night came because the God of the Sun drove his
sun-chariot along the invisible edge of the western ocean when he
returned from the west to the east. All the natural laws of Nature were
explained in some such naïve manner by the ancient peoples; the imagery
of the Greeks is especially interesting, for they impressed shadowy
figures on the very stars. These figures have given names to the
constellations, or groups of stars, and to the student of Nature, the
legends of these heroes traced in the sky add to the charm of the stars
in the same manner that the delicate aroma of the rose enhances its
loveliness.
Later, these remarkable people, in trying to account for the fixed and
orderly movement of the stars as they slowly passed from east to west,
adduced that they must be fastened in crystal spheres which whirled, one
within the other, over and under the motionless disk of the earth. They
noted that a few of these luminaries followed a wandering course, and so
called them "planets"--which means "wandering stars." Since some of
these wandering stars moved swiftly and others moved more slowly, they
fancied, in their beautiful way of explaining things, that these
different rates of speed must cause a musical tone as each star rolled
upon its crystal, a deep note for the slow bodies and a high note for
the swift bodies, and that with the infinite swelling harmony of all the
myriad stars, one vast sweeping tone of heavenly music swirled around
the spheres. But this music was for the gods and no mortal could hear
it.
Our modern music of the spheres is no more audible to our dulled ears
than the music of those ancient days, yet its silent song of light and
color, its mystic setting of ancient tales, and its wonder background of
scientific fact, descends in the same sweet way to all hearts lifted to
receive it. Yet many people miss all this and only know that the stars
are there.
It is easy to become acquainted with the more conspicuous of the
star-designs which are formed by the brightest stars in a constellation
for these seem to hang down from the dome of heaven like electrically
lighted frames. Some of these, such as the "W" of Cassiopeia, the
"Square" of Pegasus, the "parallelogram" of Orion, the Northern Cross
and the Big Dipper, are not only ornaments in the sky, but serve also as
guides to point the way to other constellations.
An endeavor has been made to arrange the constellations in this volume
in the most easily-learned-without-effort way that could possibly be
devised, and to present them in such a manner that the student will go
out of doors with a picture of the position of the stars in his mind so
that in more advanced study sky maps will acquire a new significance.
First the stars in the vicinity of the North Star are discussed--the two
starry Bears and _Draco_, the Dragon; then the great sky drama of
Perseus and Andromeda, with _Cepheus_, the King of Ethiopia,
_Cassiopeia_, the Queen, _Pegasus_, the Flying Horse and _Cetus_, the
terrible Sea-monster; the "parade of the zenith constellations"
led by _Leo_, the fierce Nemean Lion; the constellations on either side
of this interesting spectacle; the four great southern stars, each noted
enough to have the stage by itself, and the gorgeous winter program with
the brilliant stars of the Giant _Orion_, _Taurus_, the Bull, and
_Castor_ and _Pollux_, the Heavenly Twins.
Whirling about the sun in the same plane as the earth are seven other
planets. These planets resemble stars to the unaided eye but show a
definite disk through the telescope. With but the expenditure of an idle
moment now and then, who would not like to learn a few facts about
Jupiter, a world with nine moons and a thousand times larger than the
earth; Saturn, a globe surrounded by a magnificent ring and composed of
such diaphanous material that it would float on water; Mars, with its
mysterious surface markings; Venus, shrouded in the secret of its
impenetrable atmosphere; the hundreds of tiny worlds, some but a few
miles across, and even the raging sun itself with its hydrogen flames,
spots, moving belts and other idiosyncrasies?
These are only suggestions of what may be anticipated in our treasure
hunt along the slopes of the sky, but every star that has once been
found and called by name will stand forth from the multitude with a
magnetic radiance that forever after thrills the discoverer with the
pride of achievement.