crn horizon. It comes to the meridian on the 3d of March, about half an hour after Procyon, and continues visible but a few hours.

115. Gamma, in the middle of the ship, is a star of the 2d magnitude, about 7° S. of Naos, and just skims above the southern horizon for a few minutes, and then sinks beneath it. The principal star in this constellation is called, after one of the pilots, Canopus; it is of the 1st magnitude, 36° nearly S. of Sirius, and comes to the meridian 17 minutes after it; but hav ing about 53° of S. declination, it cannot be seen in the Northern States. The same is true of Miaplacidus, a star of the 1st magnitude in the oars of the ship, about 25° E. of Canopus, and 61° S. of Alphard, in the heart of Hydra.

An observer in the northern hemisphere, can see the stars as many degrees south of the equinoctial in the southern hemisphere, as his own latitude lacks of 90°, and no

inore.

116. Markeb, is a star of the 4th magnitude, in the prow of the ship, and may be seen from this latitude 16° S. E. of Sirius, and about 10° E. of Wesen, in the back of the Dog. This star may be known by its forming a small triangle with two others of the same magnitude, situated a little above it, on the E., 3° and 4° apart.

117. This constellation contains 64 stars, of which two are of the 1st magnitude, four of the 2d, and nine of the 3d. of these are too low down to be seen in the United States.

HISTORY.

Most

This constellation is intended to perpetuate the memory of the famous ship which carried Jason and his 54 companions to Colchis, when they resolved upon the perilous expedition of recovering the golden fleece. The derivation of the word Argo has been often disputed. Some derive it from Argos, supposing that this was the name of the person who first proposed the expedition, and built the ship. Others maintain that it was built at Argos, whence its name. Cicero calls it Argo, because it carried Grecians, commonly called Argives. Diodorus derives the word from apyòs, which signifies swift. Ptolemy says, but not truly, that Hercules built the ship, and called it Argo, after a son of Jason, who bore the same name. This ship had fifty oars, and being thus propelled must have fallen far short of the bulk of the smallest ship craft used by moderns. It is even said that the crew were able to carry it on their backs from the Danube to the Adriatic.

According to many authors, she had a beam on her prow, cut in the forest of Dodona by Minerva, which had the power of giving oracles to the Argonauts. This ship was the first, it is said, that ever ventured on the sea. After the expedition was finished, and Jason had returned in triumph, he ordered her to be drawn ashore at the isthmus of Corinth, and consecrated to Neptune, the god of the sea.

Sir Isaac Newton endeavors to settle the period of this expedition at about 30 years

115. Size and situation of Gamma? Name the principal star in this constellation? Its magnitude? Is it ever seen in the U. S.? What said of Miaplacidus? Remark in fine print? 116. What said of Markeb? How known? 117. Number of stars in Argo Navis? Magnitudes?

HISTORY.-Design of this constellation? Import of the term Argo? Size and structure of the ship? What myth respecting this ship? What remark respecting Si Isaac Newton? Dr. Brya at's opinion?

before the destruction of Troy, and 43 years after the death of Solomon. Dr. Bryant however, rejects the history of the Argonautic expedition as a mere fiction of the Greeks, and supposes that this group of stars, which the poets denominate Argo Navis, refers to Noah's ark and the deluge, and that the fable of the Argonautic expedition is founded on certain Egyptian traditions that related to the preservation of Noah and his family during the flood.

TELESCOPIC OBJECTS.

ARGO NAVIS-A star with a distant companion; R. A. Sh. 00m. 448.; Dec. S. 28° 50' 8". A 8%, pale yellow; B 10, greyish. Other small stars in the field.

2. A SMALL GALAXY CLUSTER; R. A. 7h. 87m. 44s; Dec. S. 23° 29′ 1′′.

3. A neat DOUBLE STAR Over the ship's stern; R. A. 7h. 88m. 08s.; Dec. S. 14° 18′ 8′′. A 7, silvery white; B 7%, pale white.

4. A close DOUBLE STAR Over the Argo's stern; R. A. 7h. 40m. 27s.; Dec. S. 11° 48′ 8′′ A 7%, pale yellow; B 9, light blue.

5. A bright PLANETARY NEBULA; R. A. 7h. 84m. 46s.; Dec. S. 17° 50′ 2′′. A fine object, pale bluish white, and may be identified by several small stars in its vicinity. See Map VILL., Fig. 37.

CANCER (THE ORAB).-MAP III.

118. Cancer is now the fifth constellation and fourth sign of the Zodiac. It is situated in the ecliptic, between Leo on the E. and Gemini on the W. It contains 83 stars, of which one is of the 3d, and seven of the 4th magnitude. Some place the firstmentioned star in the same class with the other seven, and consider none larger than the 4th magnitude.

119. Beta is a star of the 3d or 4th magnitude, in the southwestern claw, 10° N. E. of Procyon, and may be known from the fact that it stands alone, or at least has no star of the same magnitude near it. It is midway between Procyon and Acubens.

120. Acubens, is a star of similar brightness, in the southeastern claw, 10° N. E. of Beta, and nearly in a straight line with it and Procyon. An imaginary line drawn from Capella through Pollux, will point out Acubens, at the distance of 24° from Pollux. It may be otherwise distinguished by its standing between two very small stars close by it in the same claw.

121. The southern Asellus, marked Delta, is situated in the line of the ecliptic, and, in connection with Wasat and Tejat, marks the course of the earth's orbit for a space of 36° from the solstitial colure.

A few degrees S. of Cancer, and about 17° E. of Procyon, are four stars of the 4th magnitude, 3° or 4° apart, which mark the head of Hydra. The rest of this constellation is delineated on Map IV.

TELESCOPIC OBJECTS.--Iota? What cluster? Double stars? Nebula? Point out on the map?

118. Place of Cancer in the Zodiac? stars? 119. Beta? How known? of Delta? Remarks respecting Hydra?

In other respects? Number and size of it 120. Acubens? How found? 121. Situation Respecting the sign Cancer?

The beginning of the sign Cancer (not the constellation) is called the Tropic of Canser, and when the sun arrives at this point, it has reached its utmost limit of north declination, where it seems to remain stationary a few days before it begins to decline again to the south. This stationary attitude of the sun is called the summer solstice; from two Latin words signifying the sun's standing still. The distance from the first point of Cancer to the equinoctial, which, at present, is 23° 27', is called the obliquity of the ecliptic. It is a remarkable and well ascertained fact, that this is continually growing less and less. The tropics are slowly and steadily approaching the equinoctial, at the rate of about half a second every year; so that the sun does not now come so far north of the quator in summer, nor decline so far south in winter, as it must have done at the creation, by nearly a degree.

HISTORY.

In the Zodiacs of Esne and Dendera, and in most of the astrological remains of Egypt, & Scarabæus, or Beetle, is used as the symbol of this sign; but in Sir William Jones' Oriental Zodiac, and in some others found in India, we meet with the figure of a crab. As the Hindoos, in all probability, derive 1 their knowledge of the stars from the Chaldeans, it is suposed that the figure of the crab, in this place, is more ancient than the Beetle.

In some eastern representations of this sign, two animals, like asses, are found in this division of t..e Zodiac; and as the Chaldaic name for the ass may be translated muddiness, it is supposed to allude to the discoloring of the Nile, which river was rising when the sun entered Cancer. The Greeks, in copying this sign, have placed two asses as the appropriate symbol of it, which st.l remain. They explain their reason, however, for adopting this figure, by saying that these are the animals that assisted Jupiter in his victory over the giants.

Dopuis accounts for the origin of the asses in the following words:"Le Cancer on sont les étoiles appellées les ânes, forme l'empreinte du pavillon d' Issachar que Jacob assimile à l'âne."

Mythologists give different accounts of the origin of this constellation. The prevailing opinions, that while Hercules was engaged in his famous contest with the dreadful Lernæan monster, Juno, envious of the fame of his achievements, sent a sea-crab to bite and annoy the hero's feet, but the crab being soon dispatched, the goddess, to reward its services. placed it among the constellations.

"The Scorpion's claws here clasp a wide extent,
And here the Crab's in lesser clasps are bent."

TELESCOPIC OBJECTS.

1. & CANCRI-A very delicate DOUBLE STAR, under the Crab's mouth; R. A. 8h. 35m. E58.; Dec. 1. 18° 44′ 04′′. A 4%, straw color; B 15 blue, only seen by glimpses.

2. & CANCRI-A star with a distant companion, on the Crab's body; R. A. 8h. 31m. 16s.; Dec. N. 20° 06′ 02′′. A 6%, and B 7, both pale white; and a third star in the field of nearly the same magnitude.

3. CANCRI-A fine TRIPLE STAR, just below the after claws of the Crab; R. A. 8h. 03m. 02s.; Dec N. 18° 07′ 05′′. A 6, yellow; B 7, orange tinge; C 7%, yellowish. Supposed to be a Ternary system.

4. Abort 7° northeasterly from Tegmine, is a nebulous cluster of very minute stars, in the crest of Cancer, sufficiently luminous to be seen by the naked eye. It is situated in a triangular position with regard to the head of the Twins and the Little Dog. It is about 20° W. of each. It may otherwise be discovered by means of two conspicuous stars of the 4th magnitude, lying one on either side of it, at the distance of about 2°, called the northern and southern Aselli. By some of the Orientalists, this cluster was denominated Prosepe, he Manger, a contrivance which their fancy filled up for the accommodation of the Aselli or Asses; and it is so called by modern astronomers. The appearance of this group to the unassisted eye, is not unlike the nucleus of a comet, and it was repeatedly mistaken for the comet of 1832, which, in the month of November, passed in its neighborhood. Map VIII., Fig. 38.

5. A PCH BUT LOOSE CLUSTER in the Crab's southern claw, where a line from Rigel throngh Procyon, into the east-northeast, will find it about 5° north of & in the Hyades; R. A. Sh. 42m. 26s.; Dec. N. 12° 23' 06". Stars mostly of the 9th and 10th magnitudes. See Map VIII., Fig. 39.

HISTO-What other figures for Cancer? Egyptian? Hindoo? Greek? Origin o this cor 'ellation?

TELESCOPIC OBJECTS.-Delta? Epsilon? Zeta? What Clusters? Point out on the Mar

CHAPTER VI.

CONSTELLATIONS ON THE MERIDIAN IN APRIL.

LEO (THE LION).-MAP IV.

122. LEO is one of the most brilliant constellations in the winter hemisphere, and contains an unusual number of very bright stars. It is situated next E. of Cancer, and directly S. of Leo Minor and the Great Bear.

The Hindoo astronomer, Varaha, says, "Certainly the southern solstice was once in the middle of Asleha (Leo); the northern in the first degree of Dhanishta” (Aquarius). Since that time, the solstitial, as well as the equinoctial points, have gone backward on the ecliptic 75°. This divided by 504", gives 5373 years; which carry us back to the year of the world 464. Sir W. Jones says, that Varaha lived when the solstices were in the first degrees of Cancer and Capricorn; or about 400 years before the Christian era.

123. Leo is the fifth sign, and the sixth constellation of the Zodiac. The mean right ascension of this extensive group is 150°, or 10 hours. Its center is therefore on the meridian the sixth of April. Its western outline, however, comes to the meridian on the 18th of March, while its eastern limit does not reach it before the 3d of May.

This constellation contains 95 visible stars, of which one is of the 1st magnitude, one of the 2d, six of the 3d, and fifteen of the 4th.

"One splendid star of highest dignity,

One of the second class the Lion boasts,
And justly figures the fierce summer's rage."

124. The principal star in this constellation is of the 1st magnitude, situated in the breast of the animal, and named Regulus, from the illustrious Roman consul of that name.

It is situated almost exactly in the ecliptic, and may be readily distinguished on account of its superior brilliancy. It is the largest and lowest of a group of five or six bright stars which form a figure somewhat resembling a sickle, in the neck and shoulder of the Lion. There is a little star of the 5th magnitude, about 2° S. of it, and one of the 3d magnitude 5° N. of it, which will serve to point it out.

Great use is made of Regulus by nautical men, for determining their longitude at sea. Its latitude, or distance from the ecliptic, is less than ; but its declination, or distance from the equinoctial, is nearly 13° N.; so that its meridian altitude will be just

122. Describe Leo. Its situation? What remarkable statement of Varaha?

tions upon it? 123. and size of its stars?

Te made of Regulus?

Position of Leo in the Zodiac? When on the meridian?
124. Its principal star? Situation? How distinguished? What
When on the meridian, where are Castor and Pollux?

Calcula
Number

equal to that of the sun on the 19th of August. Its right ascension is very nearly 150°. It therefore culminates about 9 o'clock on the 6th of April.

When Regulus is on the meridian, Castor and Pollux are seen about 40° N. W. of it, and the two stars in the Little Dog are about the same distance in a S. W. direction; with which, and the two former, it makes a large isosceles triangle whose vertex is at Regulus.

125. The next considerable star is 5° N. of Regulus, marked Eta, situated in the collar; it is of between the 3d and 4th magnitudes, and with Regulus constitutes the handle of the sickle. Those three or four stars of the 3d magnitude, N. and W. of Eta, arching round with the neck of the animal, describe the blade.

126. Al Gieba is a bright star of the 2d magnitude, situated in the shoulder, 4° in a N. E. direction from Eta, and may be easily distinguished by its being the brightest and middle one of the three stars lying in a semicircular form curving toward the west; and it is the first in the blade of the sickle.

127. Adhafera is a star of the 3d magnitude, situated in the neck, 4° N. of Al Gieba, and may be known by a very minute star just below it. This is the second star in the blade of the

sickle.

128. Ras al Asad, situated before the ear, is a star of the 3d or 4th magnitude, 6° W. of Adhafera, and is the third in the blade of the sickle. The next star, Epsilon, of the same magnitude, situated in the head, is 24° S. W. of Ras al Asad, and a little within the curve of the sickle. About midway between these, and a little to the E., is a very small star hardly visible to the naked eye.

129. Lambda, situated in the mouth, is a star of the 4th magnitude, 34° S. W. of Epsilon, and the last in the sickle's point. Kappa, situated in the nose, is another star of the same magnitude, and about as far from Lambda as Epsilon. Epsilon and Kappa are about 44° apart, and form the longest side of a triangle, whose vertex is in Kappa.

130. Zozma, situated in the back of the Lion, is a star of the 3d magnitude 18° N. E. of Regulus, and midway between it and Coma Berenices, a fine cluster of small stars, 18° N. E. of Zozma.

131. Theta, situated in the thigh, is another star of the 3d magnitude, 5° directly S. of Zozma, and so nearly on the same meridian that it culminates but one minute after it. This star

125. Next principal star-size and position? 127. Adhafera? 128. Ras al Asad? Epsilon ? Of Kappa? 180. Of Zozma? 131. Of Theta? mentioned?

126. Al Gieba? How known? 129. Situation and size of Lambda? What triangle? What other stars