FOURTH WINTER EVENING
IN WHICH THE “SOCIETY” MEETS THE LAST OF THE STAR PEOPLE AND THE BEGINNING OF ASTRONOMY—AND BETTY PROPOSES A “NOTE” OF THANKS
The Society of Star-Gazers assembled upon the roof the next night with an eagerness that was tempered a little by regret that it was the last.
Uncle Henry saw this, and before starting to find the evening’s constellations with the children, told them a few of the many wonderful things to be seen among the stars with the aid of a small telescope.
He reminded them of the “little cloud” in Andromeda, called the Great Nebula, and said that there were not only many more of these wonderful clouds of star dust, but numbers of beautiful double stars, some of them lovely with tints of red, green or orange, and some that can be seen with an ordinary opera-glass.
Then he told them of the curious variable, or “winking” stars, which turn bright and faint alternately on a regular schedule, so many hours bright, and so many hours faint. Also he described the beauty of the planet Jupiter, surrounded by its four little moons, all of which could be seen with a small telescope.
Then the children began to feel more cheerful, for they saw that being introduced to the creatures and people of Skyland was only the beginning of the study of astronomy.
“So,” finished Uncle Henry, “we don’t need to feel that there is no more fun coming, for there are lots more faint constellations which are all beautiful, even though not plain enough for us to find easily in the beginning. Besides, if you ever journey to the South, beyond the earth’s equator, you will find a whole new sky full of marvelous people, and creatures, and objects—all pictured in the flashing southern heavens.”