The water jar of Aquarius is about the same distance northeast of δ
Capricorni that Fomalhaut, in the Southern Fish, is southeast of it.
α has a companion which can be seen by the naked eye. It is a fine
sight in an opera-glass. These two stars are gradually separating.
β is a double star, one being blue, the other yellow.
The constellation resembles a chapeau, or peaked hat, upside down.
The stars in the head of the Sea Goat, α and β are only 2° apart, and
can hardly be mistaken by an observer facing the southwestern sky
during the early evening in autumn.
Five degrees east of δ is the point announced by Le Verrier as the
position of his predicted new planet, Neptune.
Flammarion claims that the Chinese astronomers noted the five planets
in conjunction in Capricornus, in the year 2449 B.C.
The sign of the Goat was called by the ancient Orientalists "The
Southern Gate of the Sun."
[Illustration: CAPRICORNUS]
ARIES (ā´-ri-ēz)--THE RAM. (Face Southeast.)
LOCATION.--The star α in Aries, known as Hamal, and sometimes as
Arietis, a star of the second magnitude, is about 7° south of α
Trianguli. A line drawn from the Pole Star to γ Andromedæ, and
prolonged about 20°, ends at Hamal.
Aries contains three principal stars, forming a characteristic
obtuse-angled triangle.
The star γ Arietis was one of the first double stars discovered. A
telescope is required to split it. Hamal lies near the path of the
moon, and is one of the stars from which longitude is reckoned.
Below Aries may be seen the characteristic pentagon in the head of
Cetus, the Whale.
More than two thousand years ago Aries was the leading constellation
of the zodiac, and now stands first in the list of zodiacal signs.
The Arabians knew this constellation as Al Hamal, the sheep.
β and γ are one instance out of many where stars of more than ordinary
brightness are seen together in pairs, the brightest star being
generally on the east.
[Illustration: ARIES]
CETUS (sē´-tus)--THE WHALE. (Face Southeast.)
LOCATION.--A line drawn from Polaris, to δ Cassiopeiæ, and prolonged
two and one third times its original length, reaches the centre of
this constellation.
It lies just below Aries and the Triangle, and resembles the figure of
the prehistoric icthyosaurus, while some see in the outline an easy
chair. The head of the beast is characterized by a clearly traced
pentagon, about 20° southeast of Aries. The brightest star in the
constellation is α of the second magnitude. It is at one apex of the
pentagon, about 15° east of Al Rischa in Pisces, and 37° directly
south of Algol.
The noted variable Mira also known as ο Ceti is the chief object of
interest in this constellation.
It was discovered by Fabricius in 1596 and varies from the ninth
magnitude to the third or fourth in a period of 334 days. It can be
observed during its entire range with a 3" glass.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account