The Book of Stars: Being a Simple Explanation of the Stars and Their Uses to Boy LifeCollins, A. Frederick (Archie Frederick)
Science
The Book of Stars: Being a Simple Explanation of the Stars and Their Uses to Boy Life
Collins, A. Frederick (Archie Frederick)
Astronomy -- Juvenile literature; Stars -- Juvenile literature
The Pointers of the Big Dipper are in the four positions, shown in the
figure, on the following dates at 8 P.M.: May 1, 24th hour; Aug. 1, 6th
hour; Nov. 1, 12th hour; Feb. 1, 18th hour. In the same way, on Sept.
1 at 8 P.M. the pointers will be at 8 and they will also be there at 7
P.M. on Sept. 16.
CHAPTER II
HOW TO KNOW THE STARS
One of the tests a Boy Scout must pass in order to obtain his badge
of merit for starcraft is to be able to name and point out twelve
principal constellations, and every boy, whether he is a scout or not,
should be able to do the same thing for his own good.
The word _constellation_ is formed from two Latin words, the first
being _con_ which means _together_, and the last being _stella_ which
means _star_, or in plain English, constellation means _stars together_.
In your efforts to find the North Star you have already learned one of
the principal constellations—that of the Big Dipper—and to learn more
of them will be even easier and much more fun, for now you have learned
the game.
=The Constellation of Cassiopeia.=—To find the constellation of
_Cassiopeia_ (pronounced Cas´-i-o-pe´-ah) again make use of your star
finder. Remove all the stars from the blackened cardboard and rearrange
them so that the North Star is in the center of the board and the Big
Dipper is on the left hand side with the two pointer stars in a line
with the North Star. On this chart the Big Dipper must be made much
smaller than the one described in the first chapter.
Cut out five more stars from white cardboard and place them on the
opposite side of the board from the Big Dipper in such a manner that
they will form the letter =W= being careful to fasten the stars to the
cardboard so that the letter =W= stands in the exact position shown in
Fig. 13.
A line drawn through the pointers of the Big Dipper and produced will,
as before, pass through the North Star, and if it is extended an equal
distance beyond it, will pass very closely to the constellation of
Cassiopeia; this line will aid you in placing the stars on your chart
in the right positions.
Having thus prepared the star finder, take it out into the open when
night comes on and begin by locating the North Star and the Big Dipper.
Now set the Big Dipper and the North Star of your star chart in a
position which to your eye corresponds to the Big Dipper and the North
Star in the sky. Follow the line from the pointer stars to the North
Star and beyond when the great letter =W= which is the constellation of
Cassiopeia, will stand out so clear and bright that you will wonder why
you have never seen it before.
[Illustration: FIG. 13.—CONSTELLATION OF CASSIOPEIA.]
Fig. 14 shows this group of stars and the outline of the unhappy
Cassiopeia who is as often standing on her head as on her feet, but it
requires the imagination of an Arabian star-gazer to see the likeness.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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