The music of the spheres

by Florence Armstrong Grondal

Closely following Leo, the Leader, is a representation in faint golden starlight of Queen Berenice's Hair; next the lovely orange-yellow star, Arcturus, on the dim kite-shaped figure of Boötes, the Herdsman; then a crown of star gems which belonged to Ariadne, daughter of an ancient king of Crete; a huge giant called Hercules; the golden Lyre with which Apollo raised the walls of Troy and Orpheus charmed the souls in Hades; and last, but not least, a large and beautiful Cross.

The Lion disappears behind the western "bulge of the world" during the early summer, although the last of the procession, the great Cross borne on the back of Cygnus, the Swan, does not even reach the meridian—the line midway between east and west—until September. Some of these groups are also seen later than October, but at that time their splendor is dimmed by the gorgeous winter constellations in the southeast.

According to the classic legend of the Greeks, Leo was the celebrated Nemean Lion which Hercules killed as the first of the Twelve Labors which were imposed upon him by his cousin Eurystheus, who was king of the Perseidæ only through priority of birth. This lion was the largest and fiercest lion in the world with a skin so invulnerable that no arrow had ever succeeded in even denting it. The huge beast was also so rapacious that it was fast annihilating all the inhabitants of Nemea, which was the ancient name of the deep valley of Argolis. Hercules had no trouble in tracking the lion through the valley, which was only two or three miles long and half a mile broad, and easily found its den. Rushing in, he barricaded the opening, grasped the lion by the throat and after a terrific struggle, crushed the beast in his arms. Ever after he wore the tough, impenetrable skin as a covering for his own defense. The Nemean games, one of the national festivals of the Greeks, are believed to have been founded by Hercules after his victory over the Nemean lion. There is some evidence that there was a lion traced among the stars before the time of Hercules, but, if so, the Greeks erased the impression and substituted their own lion in its stead.

Leo, the Nemean lion in stars, is seen at his best during the early evenings of March, April, May and June, although he makes his first appearance on the 4th of March when, just as the sun sets in the west, his tail rises above the eastern horizon. In April he is at his highest point in his path across the sky, lying just to the south and below the bowl of the Big Dipper.

On the end of the handle of the Sickle shines Regulus, also called Cor Leonis which means "The Heart of the Lion." Regulus sends out 300 times as much light as our sun, but is so far away that it takes 99 years for its light to reach us. This star rises in the northeast at twilight on the 15th of February and crosses the meridian at 8 o'clock on April 23rd.

One generally thinks of stars as being bright and gay, but Regulus has a companion which is somber and so unusual in its appearance as compared with other stars that it was described by Winlock, its discoverer, as if "steeped in indigo." Later it was found that this oddly colored star also has a companion which makes Regulus a triple star.

The second star above Regulus is also interesting. This star is a beautiful double described in such refreshing terms as "golden-orange" and "bronze-green." It may be seen in a medium sized telescope. Later we will become acquainted with a wonderful red star which also has a green companion. Such combinations are most amazing to gaze upon.

The second brightest star adorning Leo is Denebola, which flashes on the end of his tail. Denebola is 10 times as bright as our sun and is 25 light years away. Since Regulus, on the heart of the Lion, is 99 light years distant and Denebola, on the tail of the Lion, is only 25 light years, science has certainly played havoc with the poor Nemean lion. Proctor tells us that Coma Berenices (Berenice's Hair) was originally the tuft of the tail of the lion when the constellation was pictured in the maps as being more extended. This was quite an appropriate place for the sparkles and gleams of these fine, tiny stars. It is likely that it would have still been the tuft on the Lion's tail if a clever Alexandrian astronomer had not found it necessary to use his wits quickly and call it Berenice's Hair to please the vanity of an Egyptian Queen.

The apparent center for the November meteors, or "shooting stars," which appear about the 15th of the month, are within the curve of the Sickle of Leo near the star Gamma.