CELESTIAL PHENOMENA.—JUNE.
BY D. W. BELISLE.
BOOTES.—This constellation is situated west of Asterion Et Chara, and contains fifty-four stars. It comes to the meridian the 9th of June. Bootes may be readily distinguished by the position and splendor of its principal star Arcturus, which shines with a reddish lustre, much resembling the planet Mars. This star is supposed to be nearer the earth than any other star in the northern hemisphere. Arcturus is referred to in Young's "Paraphrase," where the Almighty answers Job out of the whirlwind—
"Canst thou the skies' benevolence restrain,
And cause the Pleiades to shine in vain?
Or, when Orion sparkles from his sphere,
Thaw the cold season, and unbind the year?
Bid Mazzaroth his destined station know,
And teach the bright ARCTURUS where to glow?"
Arcturus is a star of the first magnitude, situated in the left knee, and is twenty-six degrees south-east of Cor-Coroli. Three small bright stars curve down to the left foot, while three of the same size, about nine degrees east, curve in the same manner, and form the right leg. Three stars curve upwards, forming the left arm, which he holds aloft, while three still more minute ones mark the neud of the leash which he holds in his left hand, while his right one is marked by four stars; three very minute ones mark the club with which he urges on the hounds.
The ancient Greeks called this group Lycaon, which signifies a wolf, asserting that it is Calisto who was changed into a wolf by Juno.
"But now her son had fifteen summers told,
Fierce at the chase, and in the forest bold,
When, as he beat the woods in quest of prey,
He chanced to rouse his mother where she lay.
She knew her son, and kept him in her sight,
And fondly gazed; the boy was in a fright,
And aimed a pointed arrow at her breast,
And would have slain his mother in the beast;
But Jove forbade, and snatched her through the air
In whirlwinds up to heaven, and fixed her there."
The Egyptians claimed the origin of it likewise, as also did the Hebrews. Its origin is probably too ancient to be traced.
CENTAURUS.—This fabulous monster is represented as having the head and shoulders of a man, terminating in the body of a horse. It occupies a considerable space in the southern hemisphere, yet it is so low down that but little of it can be traced in our latitude. It is situated south of Spica Virginis, and contains thirty-five stars, two of which are of the first magnitude. Agena and Bengula are stars of rare brilliancy, and mark the fore-feet of the monster. These stars are never visible in our latitude, but shine with greater lustre than any that gild our own hemisphere.
It is supposed this constellation took its rise from the simplicity of the shepherds of the earlier ages, who, on seeing men on horses, supposed them part of the animals they rode; so the Spanish cavalry seemed to the Mexicans as late as the year 1500.
The Centaurs were, in reality, a tribe of Lapithæ, who resided near Mount Pelion, and first invented the art of breaking horses. Virgil says—
"The Lapithæ to chariots add the state
Of bits and bridles; taught the steed to bound,
To turn the ring, and trace the mazy ground,
To stop, to fly, the rules of war to know,
To obey the rider, and to dare the foe."
LUPUS.—This constellation is situated south of Libra and east of the Centaur, and is so low down that it cannot be traced in our latitude. It contains twenty-four stars of a small magnitude.
This constellation, according to mythology, is Lycaon, King of Arcadia, who lived 3,600 years ago, and was changed into a wolf by Jupiter for sacrificing human victims at the altar of Pan.
LIBRA.—When the sun enters the sign Libra, the days and nights are of equal duration, and seem to observe an equilibrium like a balance. Libra contains fifty-one stars, and comes to the meridian the 22d of June. It may be known by its four principal stars forming a quadrilateral figure, lying north-east and south-west, and having its upper and lower indices nearly in a straight line running north and south. The two stars which form the south-west side of the square are situated about six degrees apart, and distinguish the southern scale. The two which form the north-east side are seven degrees apart, and mark the northern scale.
The Libra of the Zodiac is found upon all the hieroglyphics of Egypt, which is proof of its great antiquity. In the Zodiacs of Estne and Dendera, Virgo is represented as holding the balance in her hand as an emblem of equal justice to all.
The Greeks assert that the balance was placed among the stars to perpetuate the memory of Mochus, the inventor of weights and measures. It is known, however, to have existed prior to the Greek nation, and therefore the assumption must be erroneous.
SERPENS.—This constellation is situated chiefly between Libra and Corona Borealis. Those stars that lie scattered along for about twenty-five degrees, in a serpentine direction between Libra and the Crown, mark the body and head of the serpent; five of these, standing in a cluster, form the head. They are about ten degrees south of the crown.
"Vast as the starry serpent that, on high,
Tracks the clear ether and divides the sky,
And southward winding from the northern Wain,
Shoots to remoter spheres its glittering train."
Many nations have worshipped the Serpent, among which are the Hivites and aborigines of South America. Job says: "By his spirit He hath garnished the heaven; his hand hath formed the crooked Serpent."
CORONA BOREALIS.—Among the starry hosts that deck the summer sky, there is no group more beautiful than the northern Crown. It is situated north of the Serpent, and may be readily distinguished by its six principal stars curving round into a wreath or crown. Alphacca, its brightest star, is eleven degrees east of Mirac in Bootes, and comes to the meridian the 30th of June. This group contains twenty-one stars, of which those that compose the wreath are alone conspicuous. This beautiful cluster of stars is said to have been placed in the heavens to commemorate the crown presented to Ariadne, Princess of Crete, by Bacchus.
We cannot discard the history connected with the traditionary gods of the ancients as entirely fabulous, for undoubtedly, in the fables of heathen mythology, are transmitted to us records of early times so far enveloped in the impenetrable darkness that separates us from the earliest records of the human species, that they alone are all that remain to us of the habits and pursuits of the patriarchs of the world. It remains with us to sift these relics of the past from the mystic web that a barbarous age threw around them, and thus be enabled to transmit to future ages glimpses of the habits and pursuits of patriarchs of our race in all the purity of unadorned truth.
