Chapter IV: Part 4

The Great Bear _Job_ (ch. xxxviii. ver. 32)
(Seventeenth Century before our
era), _Homer_ (Ninth Century).
Orion _Job_ (ch. ix. ver. 9), _Homer_,
_Hesiod_.
The Pleiades (the Hyades) _Job_ (ch. xxxviii. ver. 31),
_Homer_, _Hesiod_.
Sirius and the Great Dog _Hesiod_ mentions it. _Homer_
calls Sirius the Star of Autumn.
Aldebaran (Taurus) _Homer_, _Hesiod_.
Boötes, Arcturus _Job_ (ch. xxxviii. ver. 32),
_Homer_, _Hesiod_.
The Little Bear _Thales_ (Seventh Century),
_Eudoxus_, _Aratus_.
Draco (the Dragon) _Eudoxus_ (Fourth Century),
_Aratus_ (Third Century).
The Man on his Knees, or Hercules _Id._
The Branch and Cerberus[12] _Id._
Corona Borealis _Id._
Ophiuchus or Serpentarius _Id._
The Scorpion _Id._
Virgo and Spica _Eudoxus_ (Fourth Century),
_Aratus_ (Third Century)
Gemini (the Twins) _Id._
Procyon _Id._
Cancer (the Crab) _Id._
Leo (the Lion) _Id._
Auriga (the Charioteer) _Id._
Capella (the Goat, the Kids) _Id._
Cepheus _Id._
Cassiopeia _Id._
Andromeda _Id._
Pegasus (the Horse) _Id._
Aries (the Ram) _Id._
The Triangle _Id._
Pisces (the Fishes) _Id._
Perseus _Id._
Lyra _Id._
The Bird, or Cygnus (the Swan) _Id._
Aquila (the Eagle) _Id._
Aquarius _Id._
Capricornus _Id._
Sagittarius _Id._
Sagitta (the Arrow) _Id._
Delphinus (the Dolphin) _Id._
Lepus (the Hare) _Id._
Argo (the Ship) _Id._
Canobus (afterward written Canopus) _Id._
Eridanus _Id._
Cetus (the Whale) _Id._
Piscis Australis (the Southern Fish) _Id._
Corona Australis _Id._
The Altar _Id._
The Centaur _Id._
The Wolf (Lupus) _Id._
Hydra _Id._
Crater (the Cup) _Id._
Corvus (the Crow) _Id._
Libra (the Balance) _Manetho_ (Third Century B. C.)
_Geminus_ (First Century) B. C.).
The Hair of Berenice[13] _Callimachus_, _Eratosthenes_
(Third Century).
Feet of the Centaur _Hipparchus_ (First Century B. C.).
Propus (η of Gemini) _Hipparchus._
The Manger and Donkeys _Id._
The Little Horse (Equuleus) _Id._
The Head of Medusa _Id._
Antinous[13] Under the Emperor Adrian
(130 A. D.).
The Peacock (Pavo) _John Bayer_, 1603.
Toucan _Id._
Grus (the Crane) _Id._
Phœnix _Id._
Doradus _Id._
The Flying Fish _Id._
Hydrus _Id._
Chamæleon _Id._
The Bee (Musca) _Id._
The Bird of Paradise (Apus) _Id._
Triangulum Australis _Id._
The Indian (Indus) _Id._
The Giraffe (Camelopardus) _Bartschius_, 1624.
The Fly (Musca) _Id._
The Unicorn (Monoceros) _Id._
Noah’s Dove (Columba) _Id._
The Oak of Charles II _Halley_, 1679.
The Southern Cross (already
seen by the ancients) _Augustine Royer_, 1677.
The Great and Little Cloud
(Magellanic Clouds) _Hevelius_, 1690.
The Fleur de Lys _Id._
The Greyhounds (Canes Venatici) _Id._
The Fox and Goose (Vulpecula
et Anser) _Id._
The Lizard (Lacerta) _Id._
The Sextant of Urania (Sextans) _Id._
The Little Lion (Leo Minor) _Hevelius_, 1690.
The Lynx _Id._
The Shield of Sobieski _Id._
The Little Triangle _Id._
Mount Mænalus _Flamsteed_, 1725.
The Heart of Charles II (α Canum
Venaticorum) _Id._
The Sculptor’s Workshop (Sculptor) _Lacaille_, 1752.
The Chemical Furnace (Fornax) _Id._
The Clock (Horologium) _Id._
The Rhomboid Reticule (Reticulum) _Id._
The Engraver’s Pen _Id._
The Painter’s Easel (Pictor) _Id._
The Compass (Circinus) _Id._
The Air Pump (Antlia) _Id._
The Octant (Octans) _Id._
The Compass and Square _Id._
The Telescope (Telescopium) _Id._
The Microscope (Microscopium) _Id._
The Table Mountain (Mensa) _Id._
The Reindeer _Lemonnier_, 1774.
The Solitaire (Indian Bird) _Id._
Le Messier _Lalande_, 1776.
The Bull of Poniatowski _Poczobut_, 1877.
The Honors of Frederick _Bode_, 1786.
The Harp of the Georges _Hell_, 1789.
The Telescope of Herschel _Bode_, 1787.
The Electrical Machine _Id_, 1790.
The Printer’s Workshop _Id._
The Mural Quadrant _Lalande_, 1795.
The Air Balloon _Id._, 1798.
The Cat _Id._, 1799.

Such are the constellations, ancient and modern, venerable or recent, into which the celestial sphere has been divided. The ancient names are respectable and respected, on account of their relations, known or unknown, with the origins of history and religion; the new ones must be ephemeral. It is useful to know them, because several stars celebrated under different titles have for their principal designation their position in these asterisms; but what we should wish would be to see them disappear.[14]

Many other substitutions have, however, been attempted. I have in my library a splendid folio of the year 1661, containing twenty-nine engraved plates, illuminated in gold and silver, among which are two which represent the sky delivered from the pagans and peopled with Christians. Instead of divinities more or less virtuous, in place of animals of forms more or less fantastic, we behold the elect—apostles, saints, popes, martyrs, sacred persons of the Old and New Testament—seated in the celestial vault, clothed in rich costumes of all colors, embroidered with gold, and carefully installed in the place of all the pagan heroes who for so many ages reigned in the sky.

The author of this metamorphosis was named Jules Schiller, and it was in the year 1627 that he introduced it, coupling his name with that of John Bayer. He began his dissertation by showing how the pagan constellations are opposed to Christian opinion and even to common-sense. He quoted the Fathers of the Church who expressly disapprove of them: Isodorus, who treats them as diabolical; Lactantius, who condemns the corruption of the human race; Augustine, who sends their heroes to hell, etc.

These constellations formed by chance, in the course of ages, without a fixed object; their inconvenient size, the uncertainty of their boundaries; the complicated designations, for which it was sometimes necessary to exhaust whole alphabets; the bad taste with which observers have introduced into the southern sky the frigid nomenclature of instruments used in science alongside mythological allegories—all these accumulated defects have often suggested plans of reform for the stellar divisions, and even the banishing of all configuration. But ancient customs are difficult to overcome, and it is very probable that, except the recently named groups, which we may now suppress, the venerable constellations will always reign.

Such are the provinces of the sky. But these provinces are of no intrinsic value; the important point for us is to make acquaintance with the inhabitants.

FOOTNOTES:

[6] The French trillion is equivalent to the English billion, or a million times a million (1,000,000,000,000).—J. E. G.

[7] The Chinese had designated them all, it is true, at the same epoch, but their groups as well as their denominations are absolutely different from ours, and do not appear to have exercised any influence on the foundations of astronomical history. It was another world, other methods, other inspirations, as if Asia and Europe formed two distinct planets. A distinguished author, M. Schlegel, published in 1875 a Chinese Uranography, which is composed of 670 asterisms, and of which he believes he can trace back the origin to 17,000 years before our era. His argument is not convincing, and it seems to me that the origin of the astronomy of the Celestial Empire can not be very much anterior to the reign of the Emperor Hoang-Ti—that is to say, to the Twenty-seventh Century before our era—and would go back at furthest to the time of Fou-Hi that is to say, to the Twenty-ninth Century. It was about the same epoch—the Twenty-eighth Century before our era—that the Egyptians, observing Sirius, the early rising of which announced the inundation of the Nile, formed their canicular year of 365 days.

[8] More correctly, from 2.3 magnitude to 3.5 magnitude.—J. E. G.

[9] The author possesses in the Museum of the Observatory at Juvisy a Japanese executioner’s sword, on the guard of which this constellation is engraved. Was it believed that the souls of executed criminals were sent there?

[10] See _Astronomical Myths, based on Flammarion’s History of the Heavens_. By J. F. Blake. London, 1876.

[11] That is, to the naked eye; it never descends below the tenth magnitude, and always remains visible in a 3-inch telescope.—J. E. G.

[12] A constellation wrongly attributed by Arago and others to Hevelius. It is found on the sphere of Eudoxus.

[13] Constellations incorrectly attributed to Tycho Brahe. The first is given by Eratosthenes, the second dates from the Emperor Adrian.

[14] Especially those which are absolutely superfluous, and occupy places stolen from the ancient constellations, like the Heart of Charles II, the Fox and Goose, the Lizard, the Sextant, the Shield of Sobieski, Mount Mænalus, the Reindeer, the Solitaire, the Messier, the Bull of Poniatowski, the Honors of Frederick, the Harp, the Telescope, the Mural Circle, the Air Balloon, the Electrical Machine, the Printer’s Workshop, and the Cat. I know, however, with reference to this last animal, that Lalande wrote: “I love cats! I adore cats! I may be pardoned for having placed one in the sky after my sixty years of assiduous labors.” But the illustrious astronomer had no necessity for this plea in order that his name should remain inscribed in letters of gold on the tablets of Urania. The Heart of Charles II is but the flattery of a courtier; the Shield of Sobieski, the Bull of Poniatowski, should fall from the sky; the Messier is but a play on words which makes the celestial flocks guarded by a pastor whose name is the same as that of the prolific hunter of comets, Messier. As for the Honors of Frederick, they usurp an unmerited place, for, in order to make room for them, Andromeda has been obliged _to draw in her arm, which she had stretched out there for three thousand years_.

THE ARABIAN HEAVENS.—LUDWIG IDELER

The majority of Arabic star-names mentioned by Kazwini owe their origin to the astronomy of the Greeks. For instance, to the latter belong El-dschediain, the two Kids (Hædi); El-ma’lef, the Manger; El-hhimârain, the two Asses; Kalb el-ased, the Lion’s Heart; El-sumbela, the Ears; El-zubênâ, the two Claws. Others indicate the positions of the stars in the Greek constellations as Râs el-tinnîn, Dragon’s Head; Râs el-hhauwâ, Head of the Snake Man; Râs el-dschêthi, Head of the Kneeling (Hercules); Dseneb el-dedschâdsche, the Hen’s Tail (Swan’s); Dseneb el-dschedi, Goat’s Tail (Wild-goat); Dseneb Kaitos, Whale’s Tail; Fom el-hhût, Jaw of the (southern) Fish; Ridschl el-dschebbâr, Giant’s Foot (Orion), etc. Still others, such as Khebd el-ased, Dafîra el-ased, El-dsirâ el-mebsûta, and el-mekbûda, El-nethra, El-dschebha, El-zubra, Sâk el-ased, Adschaz el-ased, refer to the Arabic Lion, which is a caricature of the Greek one.

Now if we separate these and many similar expressions from the astronomical nomenclature of the Arabs, there remains a class of star-names that present sufficient internal evidence to show plainly that they are indigenous to Arabia. It is worth while taking the trouble to collect and compare them. We shall in this way obtain a clearer idea of the sky that was altogether peculiar to this people.

In the first place, a large number of names of animals attracts our notice. In the vicinity of the North Pole, a shepherd (El-râï, Gamma in Cepheus), accompanied by his dog (Khelb el-râï, Zeta in Cepheus), is pasturing a herd of sheep (El-firk and El-agnâm, Alpha, Beta, Eta, and smaller stars in Cepheus), to which group also seem to belong two calves (El-ferkadain, Beta and Gamma in the Little Bear), a she-goat (El-anâk, Zeta in the Great Bear), a he-goat (El-tais in the Dragon), a young he-goat (El-dschedi, Alpha in the Little Bear), four mother-camels, a camel-foal, and a single camel pasturing by itself (El-awaîd, El-raba, and El-râfid, collectively on the head of the Dragon).

Various predatory animals are slinking around this herd, two Jackals (El-dsîbain, Zeta and Eta in the Dragon), which are specially stalking the camel-foal; a male-hyena (El-dsîch, Iota in the Dragon) and many other she-hyenas (El-dibâ, Beta, Gamma, Delta and Mu in Boötes), and other she-hyenas with their young (Aulâd el-dibâ, Theta, Iota, Kappa, Lambda, and others in the same figure).

In the neighborhood of the two jackals (two stars in the Dragon) bear the name of their claws (Adhfâr el-dsîb).

Another shepherd (El-râï, Alpha in Ophiuchus) pastures his sheep (El-agnâm, small stars in the region of Hercules’s Club) on a mead (El-rauda), which is defended on the side of the above-mentioned hyenas by two hurdles (Nasak schâmi and Nasak jemêni, rows of stars in Hercules and in the upper part of the Snake), and is open in the direction of the shepherd’s two dogs (Khelb el-râï, Alpha in Hercules and Beta in Ophiuchus).

A third shepherd and a third herd are to be found further to the south in the Milky Way. The latter was represented as a river in which four animals (camels or sheep) are drinking, while four others (El-naâîm el-sâdira, Zeta, Sigma, Tau, and Phi, in the Archer), are going away from it after having quenched their thirst. Lambda in the Archer was regarded as their shepherd (Râï el-naâïm).

Yet another shepherd was signified by the star Beta in Orion (Rigel). He was called Râï el-dschauzâ, the shepherd in the Dschauzâ, or Nut-region, _i. e._, in the region of Orion, which is splendid with many conspicuous stars. The herd which he was given to pasture are probably the “Thirst-quenched Camels” (El-nihâl), which were regarded as being the stars Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta, in the Hare in the vicinity of the Milky Way.

Besides these groups of animals, there are several others scattered over the heavens. The three pairs of stars standing close together at the feet of the Great Bear were likened to the footmarks of a gazelle. They were called the Gazelle’s Springs, or Hoofs (Kafzât el-dhibâ or Dhufra el-gizlân). Naturally the animal itself was regarded as being in the neighborhood of its tracks. On the one hand, Omicron, Pi, Rho, Sigma, A and d, on the head of the Great Bear, and on the other, as it appears, the stars of the Little Lion were included under the name Gazelle (El-dhibâ). The latter group also appears under the names the Gazelles and their Young (El-dhibâ w’ aulâdhâ).

The five stars of the Virgin, Beta, Eta, Gamma, Delta, and Epsilon, were looked upon as so many yelping dogs (El-auwâ); Alpha and Beta in the Archer as a pair of birds peculiar to Arabia (El-suradain); Alpha (Fomalhaut) in the Southern Fish and Beta (Diphda) in the Whale as two Frogs (El-difda el-awel and El-difda el-thâni); four stars in the Great Dog and the Dove and as many Monkeys (El-kurûd), and the two bright stars of the latter constellation as a pair of Ravens (El-ag’riba).

All the creatures so far mentioned are familiar to the Arabs, the camel most of all. Just as their language is rich in words which refer to this useful animal, so also it plays the chief rôle in their astronomical nomenclature. We have already met with some camel-groups in the Arabian heavens. We find two more in the Bull and in the Crow. The brightest star in the Hyades has the name of “the Large Camel” (El-fenîk or El-fetîk), the others are called “the Small Camels” (El-kilâs or El-kalâjis). The four principal stars of the Crow were regarded as so many male-camels (El-adschmâl), analogous to the above-mentioned four female-camels in a similar figure at the head of the Dragon.

Just as frequently do we come across the ostrich in the Arabian heavens. The Southern Crown bears the name of the Ostrich Nest (Udha el-naâm), to which two pairs of ostriches (El-dhalîmain, Lambda and Mu in the Archer) appear to belong. A second ostrich-nest was formed from a number of stars in the upper part of Eridanus. In the neighborhood are five hen-ostriches (El-naâmât, Zeta, Eta, Theta, Tau, and Upsilon) in the belly of the Whale, and somewhat further away are two male birds (El-dhalîm, Alpha in the Southern Fish and Alpha in the River). The latter have a number of young ostriches (El-rijâl stars in the Phœnix) between them. Ostrich eggs (El-baid), or their shells (El-kaid), are represented by small stars in the vicinity of the nest.

Besides the groups, we also find various isolated animals in the starry heavens of the Arabs. Among these is the Black Horse (El-dschaun, Epsilon in the Great Bear), perhaps belonging to the neighboring Governor (El-kâïd, Eta, in the same constellation); the beast of prey (Anâk el-ard, Gamma in Andromeda); the Male Camel (El-fahl), which was represented by Canopus and the Dog running in front of Sirius (El-khelb, Beta in Canis Major). This nomenclature, borrowed from the animal kingdom, to which must be added the Maidens (El-adsâra Omicron, Eta, Delta, and Epsilon in Canis Major); the Outrider and the Man-riding-behind (El-fawâris and El-ridf, Delta, Gamma, Epsilon, Zeta, and Alpha in the Swan); this nomenclature, I say, is peculiar in that only one star was always used to distinguish one animal.

The Arabs with so lively an imagination saw in the skies sheep, camels, ostriches, but without being led to it by the resemblance of the contour of the entire star group, as was the case of the designers of the Greek heavens. They therefore had no animal figures proper, but only animal names, such as the She-goat, the two He-goats, and the two Asses of the Greeks. On two occasions, however, it happened that more than one star was given to one animal. When the eight stars of the Archer, which were represented under the figure of only four animals at pasture going to and returning from drinking, were regarded by some as two ostriches, this does not seem to be an exception to the rule, but a misunderstanding instead, caused by the resemblance of two words (Naâïm and Naâm). The case is probably the same with the four stars, Delta, Pi, Rho, and Epsilon, in the Dragon which are called the He-goat by a very late Arab astronomer; for a star-name given by the lexicographer, Firuzabadi, would argue that analogy held true here also.

The two unmistakable cases to which I refer are those of the falling and flying Eagle (El-nesr el-wâki and El-nesr el-tâïr), the former of which was made up of three stars in the form of an equilateral triangle, and the latter of three standing in a straight line (Alpha, Epsilon, and Zeta of the Lyre, Alpha, Beta and Gamma of the Greek Eagle).

We need not take into consideration in this connection either the Arabic Lion or the complete Horse, since most probably both owe their origin to false interpretations of later grammarians.

It is quite different with a second class of Arabic star-names which signify inanimate objects. These have to do with real forms throughout, which, however, for the most part consist of only a few stars after the manner of the Greek Arrow and Triangle. To these belong El-chibâ, the tent of the Arab nomads resting on three or four supports. One of these was represented by three stars of the Charioteer (Lambda, Mu, and Sigma), and another by the four chief stars of the Crow.

El-athâfi, the three stones which the nomadic Arab placed under his pot or kettle in the form of an equilateral triangle to form the hearth. Every triad of stars standing in a similar figure might be called an Athâfi; for instance, Delta, Epsilon, and Rho in the Ram, and the three on the head of Orion, which were actually likened to one of these. In just so many words, however, the only stars that occur under this name are Alpha, Epsilon, and Zeta in the Lyre, and Sigma, Tau, and Upsilon in the Dragon.

El-kidr, the Pot, a ring of stars in the vicinity of the last Athâfi, which was formed from a number of small stars of Cepheus and the Swan.

El-midschdah, the wooden twirling-stick (spit). A kitchen utensil of similar triangular form was represented by the Hyades. The name in course of time came to be restricted to the chief star of this group.

El-fekka, the sounding plate with the broken rim, or Kas’a el-masâkhîm, the Beggar’s-dish. This name was given to the stars of the Northern Crown, which stand in a circle open toward the northeast.

El-mîzân, the Scale-beam, an appropriate name for three stars in a straight line. The ancient Arabs used it for Theta, Eta, and Delta in the Eagle; the modern ones use it to distinguish the three stars on the Belt and the three on the Sword of Orion, the former of which, on account of their equal distance from each other, are called the true scale-beam, and the latter the false one, on account of the unequal intervals.

El-dsirâ, the Ell, a term which may fitly be applied to every pair of conspicuous stars standing a certain distance from one another. It was used for the two pairs of stars on the head of the Twins and in the Little Dog.

El-ma’lef, the Manger—the name of the stars of the Cup which stand in a circular form. The more familiar Manger in the Crab belongs to the Greek Heavens.

El-kubba, the Traveling-tent, drawn by camels of the Arab’s female apartment. This name was given by some to the stars of the Southern Crown, while others, as has already been remarked, regard it as an Ostrich Nest.

El-zaurak, the Boat, was represented by the chief stars of the Phœnix. El-delv, the Well-Bucket, represented by the Square of Pegasus, occurred more frequently than any other, as is shown by the star-names relating to it—El-ferg, El-arkûwa, El-khereb, and Elnaâïm. Elna’sch, the Bier, was applied to the well-known quadrangle in the Great and Little Bear. The term particularly signifies the death-bier, and taken in this sense each of the two biers is accompanied by three mourning women—Benât—biers and mourners combined are called Benât na’sch, literally Daughters of the Bier, _i. e._, belonging to the Bier.

El-salîb, the Cross: one of these was referred to under the four stars on the head of the Dragon, which others regarded as four mother camels. A second was found in the stars of the Dolphin.

El-serîr, El-khursi, El-arsch, various kinds of Thrones. One, named Serîr benât na’sch, was represented by seven stars standing in the form of a bow on the head of the Great Bear, which were also called El-hhûd, the Pond. Two other thrones under the names Khursi, or Arsch el-dschauzâ, were distinguished under four stars of Eridanus, and four in the Hare, and yet another, named Arsch el-simâkh el-a’zal, in the stars of the Crow.

El-nidâm and El-nedm, every set of things arranged in a row, especially the Pearl Necklace, which was the name given to the four stars 1, 2, 3, 4, and Phi of the Whale standing in a straight line, and the three on Orion’s Belt. Synonymous with this, among words taken in their common acceptation is El-nasak, a name used for two rows of stars in the upper part of the Snake and Hercules, which also has a picturesqueness about it, since the two rows were regarded as hurdles around the meadow on which the above-mentioned shepherd pastures his flock.

El-fikrat, El-fekâr, and El-kelâda, the Brooch: the first of these appears as the name of the stars on the vertebra of the Scorpion’s tail; the second, for Orion’s Belt; the third, for stars of the Archer. El-dschauzâ, the Nuts, and El-lekat, the Golden-grains or Spangles. The former name was used for the stars of Orion and the neighboring Twins collectively, the latter merely for those on Orion’s Sword. Finally, to this class belongs El-khaf el-chadîb and El-khaf el-dschedsmâ, the Dyed and the Mutilated Hand, which figures were represented by the five chief stars of Cassiopeia and the five better known on the head of the Whale. Several of these figures, as we have seen, appear at more than one place in the sky. Hence arose, for astronomers at least, the necessity for distinguishing epithets. Thus the Cross on the head of the Dragon was called “the falling,” the Tent in the Crow “the southern,” one of the Biers “the smaller,” the other, “the greater”; one of the thrones in the vicinity of Orion, “the front”; the other, “the back.”

When these distinctions are wanting, as in the case of the Athâfis, it is probably because the astronomers only made use of the one in the Dragon. Ulug Bekh does not name the other in the Lyre; Kazwini also states that it only occurred in the speech of the common people.

There is still a third and very numerous class of genuine Arabic star-names, which, borrowed neither from animate nor inanimate objects, are consequently names that do not represent any figures. They owe their origin to many circumstances, the majority of which are lost to us. I will content myself with mentioning only a few of them whose origin is not shrouded in doubt.

The small star over the middle of the Great Bear’s tail is called El-suhâ, the Forgotten, the Lost, because it is only noticeable to a sharp eye; also El-saidak, the Touchstone (test-stone), because by it the eyesight was tested; Arcturus, Hâris el-semâ, the Warder of the Heavens, because it is never entirely lost in the rays of the sun; Capella, Rakîb el-thorejâ, the Watchman of the Pleiades, because it rises at the same time as they do; Alpha (Aldebaran), in the Bull, Hhâdi el-nedschm, the Driver of the Seven Stars; also El-tâbi and El-debarân, the Follower, because it rises immediately after that constellation; Beta (Denebola) in the Lion, El-serfa, the Breaker-up (Upsetter), because at its rising and setting in the morning twilight the hot and cold weather change; Alpha (Ras Alhague) in the Watersnake; El-ferd, the Isolated, because it is situated in a starless region, etc. Besides this, among this class we must include the Su’ûd, or fortunate stars, four of which are in Pegasus, two in the Wild Goat, and four in the Waterman.

It will already have been noticed that in this nomenclature single stars frequently appear under several names. Thus the stars of the Crow are sometimes called El-adschmâl, the Camels; sometimes El-chibâ el-jemêni, the Southern Tent; sometimes Arsch el-simâkh el-a’zal, the figure of the throne in the neighborhood of Spica—three quite different names which express so many various notions and have also so many separate authors.

Who were the originators of this nomenclature as a whole?

The Arabs, and particularly the nomad Arabs. To prove this we have only to cast a glance at the names in the first two classes.

The inhabitants of the northern part of the Arabian peninsula, the so-called “desert” and “stony” Arabia, for the most part, lead a nomadic kind of life.

The country is a treeless and waterless plain covered with naked rocks and sand-drifted hills, on which lie scattered single oases watered by springs and glorified with a luxuriant vegetation. On these the Arabs camp with their herds, and do not leave them until the provender is consumed, or until more powerful tribes force them to depart. They call themselves Bedâvi (Bedouins), that is, Scenitæ, Nomads, as they were called by the Greeks. These nomads, cut off from all intercourse with the world around them, who have never been subjugated by a foreign power, have preserved their character and their customs unchanged for several thousand years. Their most important occupation is cattle-breeding. Besides this, they follow the chase, or war upon their enemies, regarding as such all those not belonging to their race or who are not under their protection. They dwell in tents. Several families are under a Schech and several Schechs generally under an Emîr, who rules over the whole tribe.

The majority of these nomadic Arabs were Sabians, or Star-worshipers, before the adoption of Islam. History has preserved for us the names of several tribes who paid divine honors to single planets, or conspicuous fixed stars. No wonder that they should have fallen into such idolatry! The dust raised by the desert wind, which, as a rule, only blows during the day, and the heat of the sun compel them to pasture their herds and to undertake their hostile expeditions during the night. Leisure and necessity bid them gain information by directing their gaze at the starry sky, which is presented to them in a splendor of which we in our northern regions can scarcely form any idea. Since, therefore, the aborigines must have noticed at an early period that the nearly regular succession of changes in their climate took place in conformity with the annually recurring phenomena of the fixed stars, they ascribed to the latter a divine power. Thus originated the worship of the stars; and this once established, no other motives were needed to induce them to devote their constant attention to the starry skies. One result of this was that they applied proper names to the most conspicuous stars and groups of stars which were borrowed partly from the animal world around them, partly from their simple household effects, partly from various qualities and circumstances which they noticed in the stars. One tribe selected one name; another, another; and so it came to pass that one star, or group of stars, frequently bears more than one name. When, on the other hand, stars no less bright bear no names at all, the probable reason is that only fragments of the astronomical nomenclature of the Arab nomads have come down to us.

After this terminology had been transmitted by oral tradition, and especially by folk-songs, for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years in its original condition, it was combined into an entirely heterogeneous mass—that variegated mixture which we find in the works of Kazwini, Ulug Bekh, and others.

When the Arabs in their fanatic zeal for the spread of Mohammed’s doctrines had conquered a great part of Asia, Africa, and Europe, and established in the heart of the ancient world a mighty empire, they adopted from the Greeks, with whom they had now come in contact, their astronomy among other sciences, and with it the Greek constellations and their method of distinguishing the stars according to their position in the figures.[15]

Their astronomers now generally discriminated between the two classes of names in attributing the one to the Arabs, the other to the astronomers.

Abdelrahman Sufi, in the preface to his work on the constellations, says there are two kinds of heavens to become acquainted with—that of the astronomers and that of the Arabs. In the work itself he first describes the constellations used by the astronomers, _i. e._, the Greek ones, and then the old constellations of the Arabs. Kazwini in every case mentions a genuine Arabic star-name when he speaks of the Arabic, which is the case with almost every constellation.

Our early astronomers had very false notions of this relation of the nomadic heavens of the ancient Arabs to the mythological one of the Greeks adopted by their descendants. Schickard, in his _Astroscopium_, says: “Instead of the Dragon the Arabs depict two wolves and five dromedaries.” He means the two jackals and the family of camels which the nomads represented under the five stars on the head of the Dragon. The Arab astronomers drew the Greek dragon on their charts and globes just as we do. They only looked on the old jackals and camels as _names_ for some of its stars. In Golius and Hyde we find a more correct view of the case.

FOOTNOTES:

[15] Already in the ancient book of _Job_, whose hero has quite the characteristics of a Nomadic Emir, we find some astronomical terms whose analogy with the true Arabic star-names is unmistakable. See _Job_, ix. 9; xxxviii. 31, 32.

ASTRONOMY WITHOUT A TELESCOPE.—J. E. GORE

It must be remembered that astronomy was studied ages before the invention of the telescope, and that the ancient astronomers gained, without any optical assistance, a considerable amount of knowledge respecting the heavenly bodies.

Let us first consider the stars visible to the naked eye. The number of these down to the sixth magnitude—about the faintest that average eyesight can see—is, for both hemispheres, about 6,000. The number, therefore, visible at _one_ time from any given place is about 3,000. Possibly double this number might be seen by those gifted with exceptionally keen eyesight; but even this is a comparatively small number, scattered as it is over so large an area. Those who do not possess the power of effective enumeration estimate the number visible to the naked eye as considerably greater than is really the case. This is partly due to the irregular distribution of the lucid stars over the celestial vault, and partly to the effect which the aspect of the starry sky produces on the imagination; the fact of the stars increasing in number as they diminish in brightness inducing us to suspect the presence of points of light which we do not actually see. An attempt to count those visible with _certainty_ in any selected portion of the sky will, however, convince any intelligent person that the number, far from being large, is really very small, and that the idea, which some entertain, of a countless multitude is merely an optical illusion, and a popular fallacy which has no foundation in fact. Of course, the number visible in telescopes is very considerable. Perhaps with the largest telescopes 100,000,000 could be seen; but even this large number is very far from being “countless.” The present population of the earth is about 1,400,000,000, or about fourteen times the number of the _visible_ stars!

The first thing to be done in studying the heavens with the naked eye is to learn the positions and names of the brighter stars; and from these the fainter ones may easily be identified by means of a star atlas. Those who study the stars in this way have probably a more intimate knowledge of the starry heavens than professional astronomers, who generally find the stars—at least the fainter ones—by referring to a catalogue of stars, and then setting their telescope to the place indicated by the figures given in the catalogue. Although the famous astronomer Sir William Herschel possessed several large telescopes, he also studied the stars with the naked eye, and it is related of this great observer that he could without hesitation identify any star he could see in this way by its name, letter, or number! Such an exhaustive knowledge of the heavens is, of course, very rare; but an acquaintance with all the brighter stars can easily be acquired by any person of ordinary intelligence.

The “Plow,” or Great Bear,[16] is familiar to most people. This remarkable group of seven stars will be found very useful in identifying some of the brighter stars. The two stars furthest from the “tail” are called “pointers,” as they point nearly to the Pole Star, or star to which the axis of the earth nearly points. I say “nearly,” for the Pole Star is not _exactly_ at the pole, but distant from it about three diameters of the moon. The northern of these stars is known to astronomers by the Greek letter Alpha and the southern as Beta. The others, following the order of the figure, are known by the letters Gamma, Delta (the faintest of the seven), Epsilon, Zeta, and Eta.[17] Now, if the curve formed by the three stars in the tail, Epsilon, Zeta, and Eta, is continued on, it will pass near a very bright star. This is Arcturus (Alpha of the constellation Boötes), one of the brightest stars visible. Again, if we draw an imaginary line from Gamma to Beta, and produce it, it will pass near another bright star. This is Capella (Alpha of Auriga, “the Charioteer” referred to by Tennyson).

Again, if we draw a line from Delta to Beta, and produce it, it will pass near the tolerably bright stars, Castor and Pollux (Alpha and Beta of the constellation Gemini, or the Twins), the northern of the two being Castor. Another line from Delta to Gamma produced will pass near a bright star called Regulus (Alpha of Leo, the Lion). Another line from Beta to Eta will pass near a group called Corona Borealis, or the Northern Crown.

On the opposite side of the Pole Star from the Plow, a group of five conspicuous stars will be found, forming a figure shaped somewhat like a W. This is Cassiopeia’s Chair. Commencing with the most westerly of the five, these stars are known as Beta, Alpha, Gamma, Delta, and Eta. Like the stars of the Plow, those of Cassiopeia’s Chair may be used to find other stars. For instance, a line drawn from Beta to Alpha passes close to a star known as Gamma in Andromeda; and the same line produced in the opposite direction will pass a little north of the bright star Vega (Alpha Lyræ), one of the brightest stars in the northern heavens. A line from Gamma to Alpha produced will pass through the well-known “Square of Pegasus.”

To the east of Vega lies Cygnus, or the Swan, a well-known northern constellation. It may be recognized by the long cross formed by its principal stars, Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Epsilon; Alpha, or Deneb, being the most northern and brightest, and Beta the most southern and faintest of the five.

To the southeast of Cassiopeia’s Chair lies the constellation Perseus, distinguished by its well-known festoon, or curve, of stars. South of this lies the constellation Taurus or the Bull, which contains the well-known groups or clusters, the Pleiades and the Hyades. The Pleiades form perhaps the most remarkable group of stars in the heavens, and are easily found, when above the horizon. To ordinary eyesight the cluster consists of six stars. Some persons gifted with exceptionally keen eyesight have, however, seen eleven or twelve. A map of the Pleiades made in the sixteenth century shows eleven stars very correctly. This was drawn, of course, from observations made with a measuring instrument, but without the aid of a telescope. The observer (I think it was Möstlin, Kepler’s tutor) must have possessed wonderfully sharp eyesight. The Hyades form a V-shaped figure, and contain the bright reddish star Aldebaran.

South of Taurus and Gemini will be found the splendid constellation of Orion, perhaps the most brilliant group of stars visible in either hemisphere. A remarkable quadrilateral figure is formed by its four stars, Betelgeuse (Alpha) and Gamma[18] on the north, and Rigel (Beta) and Kappa on the south. Of these Betelgeuse and Rigel are bright stars of the first magnitude. Betelgeuse is distinctly reddish and also slightly variable in its light. Rigel is a beautiful white star. In the middle of the quadrilateral are three stars of the second magnitude, nearly in a straight line, known as Delta, Epsilon, and Zeta, Delta being the northern of the three. These form Orion’s “belt.” South of these are three faint stars, also in a straight line, forming the “sword” of Orion. Surrounding the central star of the “sword” is “the great nebula of Orion,” one of the finest objects in the heavens. It is barely visible to the naked eye, but may be seen with a good opera-glass.

To the southeast of Orion will be found Sirius, the brightest star in the heavens. It is the chief star of the constellation Canis Major, or the Great Dog, and has been well termed “the monarch of the skies,” from its great brilliancy.

The bright star Regulus, referred to above, is situated in a remarkable group of stars shaped like a sickle, and known as “the Sickle in Leo.” Regulus lies at the extremity of the handle. Leo is well placed for observation in April and May.

The famous group called the Southern Cross forms a conspicuous object in the southern heavens. It has formed a subject of interest since the earliest ages of antiquity. Its component stars, are, however, not so brilliant as some suppose, the two brightest being between the first and second magnitudes, the next of the second, and one between the third and fourth magnitudes. Near the Southern Cross are two bright stars known as Alpha[19] and Beta of the Centaur.

Among the stars are many objects known as “double stars.” These consist of two stars very close together, but which appear to the naked eye only as single stars. Some are triple, and even quadruple. Of these double stars there are now about 10,000 known to astronomers, but they are only visible with a telescope. Some, indeed, are so close that the highest powers of the very largest telescopes are necessary to see them as anything but single stars. Of the naked-eye stars there are, however, some apparently so close that they present very much the appearance of real double stars as seen in a telescope. These, although not recognized by astronomers as double stars, have been termed “naked-eye doubles.” Houzeau found that the brighter the stars are the easier it is to separate them; and that for small stars, about 15′ of arc, or half the moon’s apparent diameter, is about the limit below which the naked eye can not see a faint star double.

Of the “naked-eye doubles,” perhaps the most remarkable is Mizar, the middle star in the “tail” of the Great Bear. Close to it is a small star, sometimes called “Jack on the Middle Horse.” It was known to the ancient astronomers as Alcor, or “the test,” as it was _then_ considered a test of excellent eyesight. Whether it has really brightened seems doubtful, but at present it is perhaps visible to _ordinary_ eyesight. Some, however, fail to see it, while to others with keener vision it seems as plain as the proverbial “pike-staff.” The star Alpha Capricorni consists of two stars which, although closer than Mizar and Alcor, are more equal in brightness, and may be easily seen with the naked eye on a clear night. Nu Sagittarii may also be seen double in this way. Theta Tauri, in the Hyades, is another object which some eyes can see distinctly double; also Kappa Tauri, a little to the north of the Hyades; Omicron Cygni, a little to the west of Alpha Cygni (Deneb), is another example. On a very fine night two stars may be seen in Iota Orionis, the most southern star in the “sword.” Near Gamma Leonis, one of the brightest stars in the “sickle,” is a star of the sixth magnitude, which some can see without optical aid.

The most severe test is, however, Epsilon Lyræ, the northern of two small stars which form a little triangle with the brilliant Vega. This, to some eyes, appears double. The famous German astronomer Bessel is said to have seen it at thirteen years of age. To most people, however, it will perhaps appear only elongated. This is a very remarkable star, as each of the components is seen to be a close double when examined with a good telescope; and between the pairs are several fainter stars.

Among those interesting objects, the variable stars, are several which may be well observed without optical assistance. Of these may be mentioned Algol, of which all the fluctuations of light may be easily observed with the naked eye; Mira Ceti, which may be well observed when at its brightest; Lambda Tauri, a variable star of the Algol type; Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis), which is slightly variable; Zeta Geminorum, a fourth magnitude star, which varies about three-quarters of a magnitude in a period of about ten days; R. Hydræ, which is visible to the naked eye at maximum; Beta Lyræ, period about thirteen days; Eta Aquilæ, period about seven days; and Delta Cephei, which varies about one magnitude in a period of a little over five days. Of all these stars useful observations may be made without optical assistance of any sort.

Observations, and even discoveries, of new or “temporary” stars may also be made with the naked eye. This occurred in the case of the “temporary” stars of 1572, 1604, 1670, 1866, and 1870, but, of course, these were bright objects at the time of their discovery. Hind’s “new star” of 1848 in Ophiuchus was, however, only of the fifth magnitude when it appeared, and it might have escaped detection with the naked eye. A star of this magnitude might, however, be easily detected by an observer who is familiar with the principal stars of a constellation.

The Milky Way may, perhaps, be better seen with the naked eye than with any instrument, although an opera-glass brings out well, in some places, its more delicate details. A mere passing glance might lead a casual observer to suppose that the Galaxy stretched as a band of nearly uniform brightness across the heavens. But good eyesight, careful attention, and a clear sky will soon disclose numerous details previously unsuspected; streams and rays of different brightness, intersected by rifts of darkness, and interspersed with spots and channels of comparatively starless spaces. An excellent drawing of the Milky Way—the result of five years’ observations with the naked eye alone—has recently been completed by Dr. Otto Boeddicker at Lord Rosse’s observatory in Ireland. This beautiful picture is exquisitely drawn, and shows a wonderful amount of detail. A writer in the _Saturday Review_ of November 30, 1889, says: “His maps are in many respects a completely new disclosure. Features barely suspected before come out in them as evident and persistent; every previous representation appears, by comparison, _structureless_.” This shows what can be done with the naked eye in the study of this wonderful zone.

Among the nebulæ and clusters there are not many objects visible to the naked eye. A hazy appearance about the middle star in Orion’s “sword” indicates the presence of the “great Nebula,” one of the finest objects in the heavens. The “great Nebula in Andromeda,” aptly termed “the Queen of the Nebulæ,” is distinctly visible to the naked eye on a very clear night. It lies near the four and a half magnitude star, Nu Andromedæ (a few degrees north of Beta Andromedæ), and may be well seen in the early evening hours in the month of January, when it is high in the sky. It somewhat resembles a small comet. This nebula was known long before the invention of the telescope, and it was described by one of the earlier astronomers as resembling “a candle shining through horn,” a not inapt description.

Of star clusters visible without optical aid may be mentioned the double cluster Chi Persei, which appears to the eye as a luminous spot in the Milky Way; the cluster known as 35 Messier, a little north of Eta Geminorum, just visible to the naked eye on a very clear night; and there are others in the Southern Hemisphere, notably the globular cluster known as Omega in the Centaur, which shines as a hazy star of the fourth magnitude. Among the clusters may perhaps be included the Præsepe, or the “Beehive,” in Cancer, which has a nebulous appearance to the naked eye.

Coming now to the Solar System, the sun and moon, of course, first attract attention. Cases of sun-spots visible to the naked eye are recorded, but, of course, spots of such enormous size are of rare occurrence. Of lunar detail little can be seen without a telescope of some sort, but the larger markings are sufficiently distinct to good eyesight to convince the observer that they do not alter perceptibly, thus showing clearly that the moon always turns the same side to the earth.

Of the planets, nothing of their appearance in the telescope can, of course, be seen with the naked eye, but it is easy to identify the brighter planets. Mercury, owing to its proximity to the sun, is rarely visible in Europe and North America, but when favorably situated, it may sometimes be detected near the sun shortly after sunset or a little before sunrise. Notwithstanding the difficulty of seeing it, it was well known to the ancients, an observation of the planet dating back to 264 B. C. It is easier, however, to see in more southern latitudes, and I have frequently observed it as bright as a star of the first magnitude in the clear air of the Punjab sky. I have also seen it on several occasions in Ireland, and the Rev. S. S. Johnson, F.R.A.S., tells me he has seen it with the naked eye no less than one hundred times in the south of England. The brilliant planet Venus can hardly be mistaken when seen in the morning or evening sky. When at its brightest it considerably exceeds Jupiter and Mars, and far surpasses Sirius, the brightest star in the heavens.

If a very bright planet is seen rising at sunset, it can not be Venus, which is never seen beyond a limited distance from the sun. The observer may, therefore, conclude with certainty that the planet is either Jupiter or Mars. The latter, which occasionally rivals Jupiter in brilliancy, may be easily distinguished from the “giant planet” by its distinctly reddish color. Saturn shines with a yellowish light, and is never so bright as Mars or Jupiter when at their brightest. The planet Uranus is just visible to the naked eye, and may be found without optical assistance when its position is accurately known.

Some observers think that they can see the crescent of Venus with the naked eye when the planet is in that phase, but this seems very doubtful. Cases have been recorded of one or two satellites of Jupiter having been seen with the unaided eyesight, but few are gifted with such keen vision.

Occultations of bright stars may be well seen with the naked eye, especially when they pass behind the moon’s _dark_ limb, and as the disappearance of a star is practically instantaneous, really valuable observations may be made without a telescope, by merely noting the exact time at which the star vanishes.

Most of the comets discovered by astronomers are small and faint, and only visible in good telescopes. At intervals, however, a brilliant visitor appears on the scene, and its path among the stars may be watched from night to night with the naked eye. Before the invention of the telescope, bright comets were watched in this way, and their course recorded so carefully that it has been found possible to calculate their orbits with some approach to accuracy. In these days of large telescopes and instruments of almost mathematical precision, such a method of observation is, of course, superseded; but we may still watch the movements of a bright comet with interest, and note its apparent path across the sky with pleasure and profit. Shooting stars and fire-balls may be best observed with the naked eye, and the excellent work done in this way by Mr. W. F. Denning, F.R.A.S., should encourage others to take up this interesting branch of astronomy.

Another object which may be well seen with the naked eye—indeed, it may best be observed in this way—is the Zodiacal Light. This is a lenticular or cone-shaped beam of light, which makes its appearance at certain times of the year, above the eastern horizon before the dawn, and above the western horizon after sunset, when the sky is clear and the moon absent. In the tropics it is much more easily seen, the twilight being shorter, and I have often observed it in India shining with great brilliancy.

From the above sketch my readers will see how much may be learned of astronomy without optical assistance of any kind, and I hope that those who do not possess a telescope will use their eyes instead, and thus gain some knowledge of the wonders and beauties of the starry heavens. The knowledge thus gained will stimulate their curiosity and will give them keener interest in reading books which describe the still greater wonders revealed by the telescope.

FOOTNOTES:

[16] Also known as the Dipper and Charles’s Wain.—E. S.

[17] The Arabian names Dubhe (Alpha), Merak (Beta), Phecda (Gamma), Megrez (Delta), Alioth (Epsilon), Mizar (Zeta), and Alkaid (Eta). —E. S.

[18] Bellatrix.

[19] This is the nearest star to the earth.—E. S.

THE MILKY WAY.—RICHARD A. PROCTOR

To those who rightly appreciate its meaning the Milky Way is the most magnificent of all astronomical phenomena. However opinions may vary as to the configuration of the star-streams composing this object, no doubt now exists among astronomers that the Milky Way consists really of suns, some doubtless falling short of our own sun in brilliancy, but many probably surpassing it. Around these suns, we may fairly conceive, there revolve systems of dependent orbs, each supporting its myriads of living creatures. We have afforded to us a noble theme for contemplation in the consideration of the endless diversities of structure, and of arrangement, which must prevail throughout this immensity of systems.

The Galaxy traverses the constellation Cassiopeia. Thence it throws off a branch toward Alpha Persei (Mirfak), prolonged faintly toward the Pleiades. The main stream, here faint, passes on through Auriga, between the feet of Gemini and the Bull’s horns, over Orion’s club to the neck of Monoceros. Thence, growing gradually brighter, the stream passes over the head of Canis Major, in a uniform stream, until it enters the prow of Argo, where it subdivides. One stream continues to Gamma Argus, the other diffuses itself broadly, forming a fan-like expanse of interlacing branches, which terminate abruptly on a line through Lambda and Gamma Argus. Here there is a gap beyond which the Milky Way commences in a similar fan-shaped grouping, converging on the brilliant (and in other respects remarkable) star Eta Argus. Thence, it enters the Cross by a narrow neck, and then directly expands into a broad, bright mass, extending almost to Alpha Centauri. Within this mass is a singular cavity known as the Coal-Sack. At Alpha Centauri the Milky Way again subdivides, a branch running off at an angle of 20°, and losing itself in a narrow streamlet. The main stream increases in breadth, until, “making an abrupt elbow,” it subdivides into one continuous but irregular stream, and a complicated system of interlacing streams covering the region around the tail and following claw of Scorpio. A wide interval separates this part of the Galaxy from the great branch on the northern side, terminating close on Beta Ophiuchi.