Produced by Robert J. Hall HALF-HOURS WITH THE STARS A PLAIN AND EASY GUIDE TO THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE CONSTELLATIONS SHOWING, IN TWELVE MAPS, THE POSITION FOR THE UNITED STATES OF THE PRINCIPAL STAR GROUPS NIGHT AFTER NIGHT THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, WITH INTRODUCTION AND A SEPARATE EXPLANATION OF EACH MAP. TRUE FOR EVERY YEAR MAPS AND TEXT SPECIALLY PREPARED FOR AMERICAN STUDENTS BY RICHARD A. PROCTOR, F.R.A.S. AUTHOR OF "HALF HOURS WITH THE TELESCOPE," "EASY STAR LESSONS," "A LARGER STAR ATLAS," AND THE ARTICLE ON ASTRONOMY IN THE "AMERICAN CYCLOPAEDIA" AND THE "CYCLOPAEDIA BRITTANICA." ETC., ETC. "Here I may sit and rightly spell Of every star that Heav'n doth show."--MILTON. The Heavens declare the glory of God; and the Firmament showeth His handiwork.--PSALMS xix: 1. G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS NEW YORK AND LONDON The Knickerbocker press 1911 INTRODUCTION ON THE USE OF THE MAPS. It is very easy to gain a knowledge of the stars, if the learner sets to work in the proper manner. But he commonly meets with a difficulty at the outset of his task. He provides himself with a set of the ordinary star-maps, and then finds himself at a loss how to make use of them. Such maps tell him nothing of the position of the constellations _on the sky_. If he happen to recognize a constellation, then indeed his maps, if properly constructed, will tell him the names of the stars forming the constellation, and also he may be able to recognize a few of the neighboring constellations. But when he has done this he may meet with a new difficulty, even as respects this very constellation. For if he look for it again some months later, he will neither find it in its former place nor will it present the same aspect,--if indeed it happen to be above the horizon at all. It is clear, then, that what the learner wants is a set of maps specially constructed to show him in what part of the sky the constellations are to be looked for. He ought on any night of the year to be able to turn at once to the proper map, and in that map he ought to see at once what to look for, toward what point of the compass each visible constellation lies, and how high it is above the horizon. And, if possible (as the present work shows is the case), _one_ map ought to suffice to exhibit the aspect of the whole heavens, in order that the beginner may not be confused by turning from map to map, and trying to find out how each fits in with the others.