Scouting, Volume 8, Number 6, March 11, 1920 Page: 6
16 p. : ill. ; 31 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
SCOUTING, MARCH 11, 1920
"North.
sinus
7^ Procyon
y J$f Jy>
' *v; -.oN
neoulus
V 7
** Sickle
tPo/lux
* Castor
i^Aldebcuvfr.
J? *;j !
*,Capella.>.
* f Th£
^ Big Dipper
Pole Star
tLPerseus
*
if- -*
Cassicpeas
A Start toward Star Study
Three troop^lessons
By C. N. Filkins
ALTHOUGH the summer offers
balmy evenings for star study, yet
the winter evenings come sooner and the
clear atmosphere and beautiful blue of
the heavens make the stars seem more
alive, more sparkling and more beautiful.
These lessons should be given by copy-
ing the given diagrams on a blackboard.
Begin with the pole star, the big dipper
and Orion and tell the Scouts in just
what part of the sky to look for them.
Then add the others, one at a time, until
they are all learned.
Follow up the blackboard lessons with
actual observations on a clear' evening,
when all the constellations can be pointed
out. A Map of the Constellations of the
Northern Hemisphere, price 20 cents, can
be purchased from the Hydrographic
Office, Navy Department, Washington,
D; G, which will be found valuable in
this work.
Story for First Week
During the evenings of January and
February and March the splendid con-
stellations of Orion takes possession of
the southern half of the heavens, and
we find the other stars by referring to
it instead of to the North Star. Orion
is a constellation which almost every
one knows, the three stars in a row mak-
ing the belt, and the three smaller set
obliquely below which outline the sword;
above the belt is the splendid red Betel-
geuse set like a glowing ruby on Orion's
shoulder, and below the white Rigel, like
a spur on his heel. Thus stands the
great hunter in the skies with his club
raised to keep off the plunging bull,
whose eye is the red Aldebaran, and
behind him follows the Great Dog with
bright Sirius in his mouth, and the Little
Dog branded by a white star. Procyon.
Our New England ancestors did not see
this grand figure in the sky, but called
the constellation the Yard ell or the ell
Yard.
The three beautiful stars which make
Orion's belt are all double stars; the belt
is just three degrees long and is an ex-
cellent unit for sky measurement. The
sword is not merely the three stars in a
line which we see, but is really a curved
line of stars; and what seems to be the
third star from the bottom and which
looks hazy is in fact a great nebula,
which seen through a telescope seems a
splash of light with six stars in it.
Betelgeuse is a brilliant red star which is
above the belt and is the first to rise
since it is the most eastern bright star
in the constellation. It is an old, old
star and has grown cold, as is shown by
its red color; sometimes it glows redder
than at others. It is so far away that
we have not been able to measure the
distance accurately and it is receding
from us all the time. About fifteen
minutes after Betelgeuse rises and after
the belt and sword are in sight, a white
sparkling star appears at the southwest
of the belt. This is Rigel. This, too, is
so far from us that we do not know_ its
distance and it is also receding. Rigel
marks the left foot of Orion. Because
it is so much farther south than Betel-
geuse it rises later and sets sooner than
that star.
Orion (O-ri-on)
Purpose.—To learn the stars of Orion
and to map them.
Observations:
(1) Where is Orion in relation to the
Pole Star?
(2) How many stars in the belt of
Orion?
(3) How many stars in the sword?
Can you see plainly the third star from
the bottom of the sword?
(4) Notice above the belt and about
three times its length a bright star. This
is Betelgeuse (Be-tel-gerz). What is its
color? What does it mean when a star
is very red?
(5) Look below the belt at about an
equal distance and observe another
bright star. This is Rigel, (Ri-jel).
What is its color and what does its color
signify?
(6) Note that west of the red star
above the east of the white star below
are two fainter stars, and these four
stars connected by lines make an irregu-
lar four-sided figure fencing in the belt
and sword. Sketch this figure with the
belt and sword and write on your dia-
gram the name of the red star which is
Betelgeuse and the white star which is
Rigel.
(7) Red Betelgeuse lies farther north
than white Rigel. Which of these two
stars rises first and which sets first, and
why?
(8) Write the story of Orion. (Con-
sult Encyclopaedia Brittanica.)
Second Week
Aldebaran (Al-deb-a-ran) and the
Pleiades (Ple-ya-dees)
Story for Second Week
Almost in line with the belt of Orion
and northwest from it may be seen in
winter evenings a rosy star not so red
as Betelgeuse. This is Aldebaran which
lies about half way between the belt and
Pleiades. Aldebaran is a comparatively
near neighbor, as it takes only thirty-
two years for its light to pass from it
to us. (Light travels at the rate of 186,-
000 miles per second). This ruddy star
marks the lower arm of a V-shaped con-
stellation composed of this and four
other stars which is called the Hyades
(Hy-a-dees). Aldebaran is a part of the
constellation called Taurus, the bull, and
is the eye of the infuriated beast.
Although the eye is attracted by many
bright stars in the winter sky, yet there
is a little misty group of stars which has
ever held the human attention and of
whom the poets of all ages have sung.
These stars are called the Pleiades
(ple-ya-dees) and some eyes can count
six stars in the group while others can
see seven or eight. There are nine larger
ones, seen through a telescope, which
bear names; but sky photography has re-
vealed that there are more than three
thousand stars in this little group. Per-
haps no stars in the heavens give us such
a feeling of the infinity of the universe
as do the Pleiades; for astronomers be-
lieve that they form a great star system
which is now evolving from a nebula.
The reason for this belief is that these
stars are surrounded by the brilliant
mist which sometimes seems to be looped
from one to another, and they are all
of the same stage of development and
chemical composition, and are all moving
together in the same direction. These
stars which look so close together to us
are really so far apart that our own
solar system could roll in between them
and neve- be noticed. It would require
several years for light to travel from one
of these stars to the one nearest it, and
the group is so far away from us that
we cannot estimate its distance, but
know that it takes light several hundred
years to reach us from it. There is a
mythical story found in literature that
once the unaided eye could see seven in-
stead of six stars in the Pleiades.
Question on the Pleiades
Purpose.—To learn the position and
something about Aldebaran and the
Pleiades.
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Periodical.
Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 8, Number 6, March 11, 1920, periodical, March 11, 1920; New York, New York. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth283140/m1/6/: accessed April 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.