Chapter XVIII: Appendix: G

CONSTELLATIONS HAVING FIRST MAGNITUDE STARS

The following important constellations are not described in the foregoing chapters of this book. They can be found, though, without trouble, since a star of the first magnitude is located in each.

_Canis Major, the Big Dog_, is a winter constellation, and can be seen on your meridian at 9 o’clock P. M. in February. Look for it in the southern sky and you will quickly find it because of the dazzling brightness of _Sirius_, the Dog Star.

_Bootes_ (pronounced Bo-ō´-tes), the Bear Leader, is a summer constellation, and can be seen on the meridian at 9 o’clock P. M. in June. It is to the north of the ecliptic, or path of the Sun. It lies between a crown of stars and Virgo. You can’t miss it, for midway is _Arcturus_, a red star of the first magnitude.

_Lyra, the Lyre._--Is a summer constellation, and can be seen on the meridian at 9 o’clock P. M. in August. Look for it almost overhead, and you can’t mistake it, for three bright stars, of which _Vega_ is one, form a triangle.

_Canis Minor._--The Little Dog: is a spring constellation, and can be seen on the meridian at 9 o’clock P. M. in March. It lies to the south of the constellation of Gemini, the Twins, and Cancer, the Crab. In it you will see _Procyon_, the Little Dog Star.

_Aquila, the Eagle._--Is a summer constellation, and can be seen on the meridian in August. Look for it south of Lyra, and far to the west of Pegasus. The star that put Aquila on the map is _Altair_.

_Cygnus, the Swan._--Is also a summer constellation, and can be seen on your meridian at 9 o’clock P. M. in September. You will find it north of Pegasus and east of Lyra, and in it you will see the _Northern Cross_ clearly traced out with seven stars, the brightest one being _Deneb_, a first magnitude star.

Piscis Australis, the Southern Fish, is an inconspicuous constellation far south of the Equator. Fomalhaut, its brightest star comes only 20 degrees above our horizon and must be looked for when it is near the meridian--about 9 o’clock P. M. in October.

APPENDIX H

COLORED STARS

You can easily notice that the stars differ in color. The following list gives the colors of a few of the brighter stars:

WHITE STARS: Sirius, Regulus, Vega.
BLUE STARS: Rigel and Spica.
RED STARS: Aldebaran, Antares, and Betelgeux.
GREEN STARS: B Librae.
YELLOW STARS: The Sun, Arcturus, and Capella.

APPENDIX I

DOUBLE STARS

When two stars are very close together they form what is called a _double star_, but double stars of which the two components are really near together in space and revolve around each other usually cannot be resolved, that is separated, into two stars without the aid of a telescope.

The North Star; Rigel, Castor; Procyon and Sirius, are all famous double stars.