Like all stars of this class, Nova Aquilæ No. 3 sank rapidly into oblivion. In a few weeks it was only a third-magnitude star; a few weeks more and it was invisible without a telescope. Many wonderful and interesting changes have been recorded in the appearance of this star, however, even after it became visible only in the telescope. Soon after its outburst it appeared to develop a nebulous envelope, as have other novas before it. It showed in addition many of the peculiarities of the nebulæ, though the central star remained visible as before the outburst. Astronomers are still in doubt as to the cause of these outbursts, which certainly indicate celestial catastrophies of some form on a gigantic scale. All novas possess one characteristic in common--that of appearing exclusively in the Milky Way; and another characteristic is the development of a nebular envelope after the outburst of greatest brightness. In some cases temporary stars have been known to be variable in brightness for years before the great outburst. Such a star was Nova Aquila, for the examination of photographs of this region taken some years previous showed variations in its brightness for a period of thirty years at least. Up to the beginning of this century only about thirty novas had been discovered. Since that date, thanks to the vigilance of the astronomers of today and to the aid of photography, more have been discovered than in all the preceding centuries. These outbursts of new stars appear to be not so rare as the earlier astronomers believed, though great outbursts as brilliant as that of Nova Aquila are very uncommon. XI OCTOBER The constellations that will be found nearest the meridian in early October evenings are the circumpolar constellations Cepheus and Cassiopeia, and in the southern sky, Capricornus and Aquarius.