Chapter I: Front Matter

Transcriber’s Notes:

Underscores “_” before and after a word or phrase indicate _italics_
in the original text.
Small capitals have been converted to SOLID capitals.
Illustrations and footnotes have been moved so they do not break up
paragraphs.
Typographical and punctuation errors have been silently corrected.

STARS OF THE SOUTHERN SKIES

STARS OF THE
SOUTHERN SKIES

BY
M. A. ORR
(MRS. JOHN EVERSHED)

AUTHOR OF “AN EASY GUIDE TO SOUTHERN STARS”
AND “DANTE AND THE EARLY ASTRONOMERS”

“All experience is an arch wherethrough
We glimpse the untravelled world whose margin fades
Forever and forever.”

_WITH ILLUSTRATIONS_

LONGMANS, GREEN AND CO.
39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON
FOURTH AVENUE & 30TH STREET, NEW YORK
BOMBAY, CALCUTTA, AND MADRAS 1915

All rights reserved

TO MISS MARY PROCTOR

CONTENTS

CHAP. PAGE
THE GREEK LETTERS x
INTRODUCTION xi
I. THE CONSTELLATIONS OF THE SOUTH: MODERN GROUPS 1
II. THE CONSTELLATIONS OF THE SOUTH: ANCIENT GROUPS 6
III. THE TEN BRIGHTEST STARS OF THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE 15
IV. STARS OF DIFFERENT AGES 23
V. SOME NEAR NEIGHBOURS 32
VI. DOUBLE AND MULTIPLE STARS 35
VII. THE ASTONISHING STAR, ETA ARGŪS 40
VIII. MIRA, THE WONDERFUL STAR 46
IX. ECLIPSING STARS 51
X. SHORT-PERIOD VARIABLE STARS 54
XI. IRREGULAR AND DOUBTFUL VARIABLES 57
XII. STAR-CLUSTERS 59
XIII. GLOBULAR STAR-CLUSTERS 66
XIV. NEBULAE 72
XV. OTHER TYPES OF NEBULAE 80
XVI. THE CLOUDS OF MAGELLAN 85
XVII. THE MILKY WAY 88

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE
MAP OF THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE _to face Title_

THE OLD CONSTELLATION FIGURES OF
THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE _to face page 6_

THE ARCHER _page 11_
From a Babylonian Boundary Stone
now in the British Museum

THE STAR-CLUSTER, 47 TOUCANI _to face page 68_
From Sir John Herschel’s drawing

THE MILKY WAY IN SCORPIO, LUPUS, AND ARA _to face page 88_
Photographed at Hanover, Cape Colony,
by Bailey and Schultz

THE GREEK LETTERS

α Alpha ν Nu
β Beta ξ Xi
γ Gamma ο Omicron
δ Delta π Pi
ε Epsilon ρ Rho
ζ Zeta σ Sigma
η Eta τ Tau
θ Theta υ Upsilon
ι Iota φ Phi
κ Kappa χ Chi
λ Lambda ψ Psi
μ Mu ω Omega