With either of our telescopes we shall have a feast for the eye when we turn the glass upon the star cluster No. 1454, some four degrees south of Sirius. Look for a red star near the center. Observe the curving rows so suggestive of design, or rather of the process by which this cluster was evolved out of a pre-existing nebula. You will recall the winding streams in the Great Nebula of Orion. Another star cluster worth a moment's attention is No. 1479, above and to the left of Sirius. We had better use the five-inch for this, as many of the stars are very faint. Not far away we find the double star μ, whose components are of the fifth and eighth magnitudes, distance 2.8", p. 343°. The small star is pale blue. Cluster No. 1512 is a pleasing object with our largest aperture. In No. 1511 we have a faint nebula remarkable for the rows of minute stars in and near it. The star γ is an irregular variable. In 1670 it is said to have almost disappeared, while at the beginning of the eighteenth century it was more than twice as bright as it is to-day. The reddish star δ is also probably variable. In my "Astronomy with an Opera Glass" will be found a cut showing a singular array of small stars partly encircling δ. These are widely scattered by a telescope, even with the lowest power.
Eastward from Canis Major we find some of the stars of Argo Navis. Σ 1097, of the sixth magnitude, has two minute companions at 20" distance, p. 311° and 312°. The large star is itself double, but the distance, 0.8", p. 166°, places it beyond our reach. According to Burnham, there is yet a fourth faint star at 31", p. 40°. Some three degrees and a half below and to the left of the star just examined is a beautiful star cluster, No. 1551. Nos. 1564, 1571, and 1630 are other star clusters well worth examination. A planetary nebula is included in 1564. With very powerful telescopes this nebula has been seen ring-shaped. Σ 1146, otherwise known as 5 Navis, is a pretty double, colors pale yellow and blue, magnitudes five and seven, distance 3.25", p. 19°. Our three-inch will suffice for this.
North of Canis Major and Argo we find Monoceros and Canis Minor ([map No. 3]). The stars forming the western end of Monoceros are depicted on [map No. 1]. We shall begin with these. The most interesting and beautiful is 11, a fine triple star, magnitudes five, six, and seven, distances 7.4", p. 131°, and 2.7", p. 103°. Sir William Herschel regarded this as one of the most beautiful sights in the heavens. It is a good object to try our three-inch on, although it should not be difficult for such an aperture. The star 4 is also a triple, magnitudes six, ten, and eleven, distances 3.4", p. 178°, and 10", p. 244°. We should glance at the star 5 to admire its fine orange color. In 8 we find a golden fifth-magnitude star, combined with a blue or lilac star of the seventh magnitude, distance 14", p. 24°. Σ 938 is a difficult double, magnitudes six and a half and twelve, distance 10", p. 210°. Σ 921 is double, magnitudes six and a half and eight, distance 16", p. 4°. At the spot marked on the [map] 1424 we find an interesting cluster containing one star of the sixth magnitude.
The remaining stars of Monoceros will be found on [map No. 3]. The double and triple stars to be noted are S, or Σ 950 (which is also a variable and involved in a faint nebula), magnitudes six and nine, distance 2.5", p. 206°; Σ 1183, double, magnitudes five and a half and eight, distance 31", p. 326°; Σ 1190, triple, magnitudes five and a half, ten, and nine, distances 31", p. 105°, and 67", p. 244°. The clusters are 1465, which has a minute triple star near the center; 1483, one member of whose swarm is red; 1611, very small but rich; and 1637, interesting for the great number of ninth-magnitude stars that it contains. We should use the five-inch for all of these.
Procyon and its Neighbors.
Canis Minor and the Head of Hydra are also contained on [map No. 3]. Procyon, α of Canis Minor, has several minute stars in the same field of view. There is, besides, a companion which, although it was known to exist, no telescope was able to detect until November, 1896. It must be of immense mass, since its attraction causes perceptible perturbations in the motion of Procyon. Its magnitude is eight and a half, distance 4.83", p. 338°. One of the small stars just referred to, the second one east of Procyon, distant one third of the moon's diameter, is an interesting double. Our four-inch may separate it, and the five-inch is certain to do so. The magnitudes are seven and seven and a half or eight, distance 1.2", p. 133°. This star is variously named Σ 1126 and 31 Can. Min. Bode. Star No. 14 is a wide triple, magnitudes six, seven, and eight, distances 75, p. 65°, and 115", p. 154°.
In the Head of Hydra we find Σ 1245, a double of the sixth and seventh magnitudes, distance 10.5", p. 25°. The larger star shows a fine yellow. In ε we have a beautiful combination of a yellow with a blue star, magnitudes four and eight, distance 3.4", p. 198°. Finally, let us look at θ for a light test with the five-inch. The two stars composing it are of the fourth and twelfth magnitudes, distance 50", p. 170°.