The Leonids are characterized by their exceedingly swift flight. They are of a greenish or bluish tint and leave behind them a vivid and persistent train. In most years the display is not especially noteworthy. Once in thirty-three years they afford an exhibition grand beyond description as in 1833 and 1866. THE CONSTELLATIONS OF WINTER. [Illustration: Map showing the principal stars visible from Lat. 40° N. at 9 o'clock, January first.] TAURUS (tâ´-rus)--THE BULL. (Face Southwest.) LOCATION.--Taurus contains the well-known and unmistakable group the Pleiades, on the right shoulder of the Bull. A "V" shaped group known as the Hyades is just to the southeast of the Pleiades, in the face of the Bull, forming one of the most beautiful objects in the sky. The brightest star in Taurus is Aldebaran, a ruddy-hued star known as "The Follower." It is at the beginning of the "V" in the Hyades, and is at the apex of a triangle formed by Capella, in Auriga, and α Persei, and equally distant from them both. The star β called Nath, is peculiarly white, and is common to Taurus and Auriga. It represents the tip of one of the Bull's horns, and the right foot of the Charioteer. The Pleiades are mentioned in Chinese annals in 2357 B.C. On a photograph of the group over 2000 stars have been counted. The ecliptic passes a little south of a point midway between the two horns, where a scattered and broken stream of minute stars can be seen. Note two pretty pairs in the Hyades, one south of Aldebaran, the other northwest of it. There are rich clusters below the tip of the horn over Orion's head. Taurus was an important object of worship by the Druids. Aldebaran is near one eye of the Bull, and used to be called "The Bull's Eye." An occultation of it by the moon, which not infrequently occurs, is a striking phenomenon. The Eskimos regard the Pleiades as a team of dogs in pursuit of a bear. The group is receding from us at the rate of thirteen miles a second and has a common eastward motion of about ten seconds a century. [Illustration: TAURUS] ORION (ŏ-rī´-on)--THE GIANT HUNTER. (Face South.) LOCATION.--Orion is considered the finest constellation in the heavens. A line drawn from Nath to ζ Tauri (the tips of the Bull's horns), and extended 15°, strikes the brilliant Betelgeuze in Orion, known as the martial star. It forms the northeast corner of a conspicuous parallelogram. The splendid first-magnitude star Rigel is diagonally opposite Betelgeuze, and the girdle and sword of the Hunter lie within the parallelogram, a very striking group. The former is represented by three bright stars in a line 3° long known as the "Three Stars," because there are no other stars in the heavens that exactly resemble them in position and brightness.