El Nath has around it some very remarkable rows of small stars, and the whole constellation of Auriga, like that of Gemini, glitters with star-dust, for the Milky-Way runs directly through it.
With a powerful field-glass you may try a glimpse at the rich star-clusters marked 38 M, 37 M, and 337.
Map 4.
The mythology of Auriga is not clear, but the ancients seem to have been of one mind in regarding the constellation as representing the figure of a man carrying a goat and her two kids in his arms. Auriga was also looked upon as a beneficent constellation, and the goat and kids were believed to be on the watch to rescue shipwrecked sailors. As Capella, which represents the fabled goat, shines nearly overhead in winter, and would ordinarily be the first bright star to beam down through the breaking clouds of a storm at that season, it is not difficult to imagine how it got its reputation as the seaman's friend. Dr. Seiss has so spirited a description of the imaginary figure contained in this constellation that I can not refrain from quoting it:
"The figure itself is that of a mighty man seated on the Milky-Way, holding a band or ribbon in his right hand, and with his left arm holding up on his shoulder a she-goat which clings to his neck and looks out in astonishment upon the terrible bull; while in his lap are two frightened little kids which he supports with his great hand."
It is scarcely necessary to add that Dr. Seiss insists that Auriga, as a constellation, was invented long before the time of the Greeks, and was intended prophetically to represent that Good Shepherd who was to come and rescue the sinful world.
If any reader wishes to exercise his fancy by trying to trace the outlines of this figure, he will find the head of Auriga marked by the star Delta (δ) and the little group near it. Capella, in the heart of the Goat, is just below his left shoulder, and Menkalina marks his right shoulder. El Nath is in his right foot, and Iota (ι) in his left foot. The stars Epsilon (ε), Zeta (ζ), Eta (η), and Lambda (λ) shine in the kids which lie in Auriga's lap. The faint stars scattered over the eastern part of the constellation are sometimes represented as forming a whip with many lashes, which the giant flourishes with his right hand.
Let us turn back to Denebola in the Lion's Tail. Now glance from it down into the southeast, and you will see a brilliant star flashing well above the horizon. This is Spica, the chief twinkler of Virgo, and it is marked on our circular map. Then look into the northwest, and at about the same distance from Denebola, but higher above the horizon than Spica, you will catch the sparkling of a large, reddish star. It is Arcturus in Boötes. The three, Denebola, Spica, and Arcturus, mark the corners of a great equilateral triangle. Nearly on a line between Denebola and Arcturus, and somewhat nearer to the former, you will perceive a curious twinkling, as if gossamers spangled with dew-drops were entangled there. One might think the old woman of the nursery rhyme who went to sweep the cobwebs out of the sky had skipped this corner, or else that its delicate beauty had preserved it even from her housewifely instincts. This is the little constellation called Berenice's Hair. Your opera-glass will enable you to count twenty or thirty of the largest stars composing this cluster, which are arranged, as so often happens, with a striking appearance of geometrical design. The constellation has a very romantic history. It is related that the young Queen Berenice, when her husband was called away to the wars, vowed to sacrifice her beautiful tresses to Venus if he returned victorious over his enemies. He did return home in triumph, and Berenice, true to her vow, cut off her hair and bore it to the Temple of Venus. But the same night it disappeared. The king was furious, and the queen wept bitterly over the loss. There is no telling what might have happened to the guardians of the temple, had not a celebrated astronomer named Conon led the young king and queen aside in the evening and showed them the missing locks shining transfigured in the sky. He assured them that Venus had placed Berenice's lustrous ringlets among the stars, and, as they were not skilled in celestial lore, they were quite ready to believe that the silvery swarm they saw near Arcturus had never been there before. And so for centuries the world has recognized the constellation of Berenice's Hair.
Look next at Corvus and Crater, the Crow and the Cup, two little constellations which you will discover on the circular map, and of which we give a separate representation in Map 5. You will find that the stars Delta (δ) and Eta (η), in the upper left-hand corner of the quadrilateral figure of Corvus, make a striking appearance. The little star Zeta (ζ) is a very pretty double for an opera-glass. There is a very faint pair of stars close below and to the right of Beta (β). This forms a severe test. Only a good opera-glass will show these two stars as a single faint point of light. A field-glass, however, will show both, one being considerably fainter than the other. Crater is worth sweeping over for the pretty combinations of stars to be found in it.