The Trouvelot astronomical drawings manualTrouvelot, E. L. (Etienne Leopold)
Science
The Trouvelot astronomical drawings manual
Trouvelot, E. L. (Etienne Leopold)
Astronomy -- Pictorial works
In our northern sky are found a few such agglomerations of stars, which
are familiar objects to all observers of celestial objects. In the
constellation Coma Berenices, the stars are small, but quite condensed,
and form a loosely scattered, faint group. In Taurus, the Hyades and the
Pleiades, visible during our winter nights, are conspicuous and familiar
objects which cannot fail to be recognized. In the last group, six stars
may be easily detected by ordinary eyes on any clear night, but more can
sometimes be seen; on rare occasions, when the sky was especially
favorable, I have detected eleven clearly and suspected several others.
The six stars ordinarily visible, are in order of decreasing brightness,
as follows: Alcyone, Electra, Atlas, Maia, Taygeta and Merope. Glimpses
of Celano and Pleione are sometimes obtained.
When the sky is examined with some attention on any clear, moonless
night, small, hazy, luminous patches, having a cometary aspect, are
visible here and there to the naked eye. In the constellation Cancer is
found one of the most conspicuous, called Præsepe, which forms a small
triangle with the two stars _γ_ and _δ_. In Perseus, and involved in
the Milky-way, is found another luminous cloud, situated in the
sword-handle, and almost in a line with the two stars _γ_ and _δ_ of
Cassiopeia's Chair. In the constellation Hercules, another nebulous mass
of light, but fainter, is also visible between the stars _η_ and _ζ_
where it appears as a faint comet, in the depths of space. In Ophiuchus
and Monoceros are likewise found hazy, luminous patches. In the southern
sky, several such objects are also visible to the naked eye, being found
in Sagittarius, in Canis Major and in Puppis; but the most conspicuous
are those in Centaurus and Toucan. That in Centaurus involves the star
_ω_ in its pale diffused nebulosity, and that in Toucan is involved in
the lesser Magellanic cloud.
When the telescope is directed to these nebulous objects, their hazy,
ill-defined aspect disappears, and they are found to consist of
individual stars of different magnitudes, which being more or less
closely grouped together, apparently form a system of their own. These
groups, which are so well adapted to give us an insight into the
structure and the vastness of the stellar universe, are called
_Star-clusters_.
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