Fig. 398.
341. Pisces and Aries.—The remaining zodiacal constellations are Pisces, or the Fishes, Aries, or the Ram (Fig. 398), and Cancer, or the Crab.
The Fishes lie under Pegasus and Andromeda, but contain no bright stars. Aries (between Pisces and Taurus) is marked by a pair of stars on the head,—one of the second, and one of the third magnitude. Cancer (between Leo and Gemini) has no bright stars, but contains a remarkable cluster of small stars called Præsepe, or the Beehive.
Clusters.
342. The Hyades.—The Hyades are a very open cluster in the face of Taurus (334). The three brightest stars of this cluster form a letter V, the point of the V being on the nose, and the open ends at the eyes. This cluster is shown in Fig. 399. The name, according to the most probable etymology, means rainy; and they are said to have been so called because their rising was associated with wet weather. They were usually considered the daughters of Atlas, and sisters of the Pleiades, though sometimes referred to as the nurses of Bacchus.
Fig. 399.
343. The Pleiades.—The Pleiades constitute a celebrated group of stars, or a miniature constellation, on the shoulder of Taurus. Hesiod mentions them as "the seven virgins of Atlas born," and Milton calls them "the seven Atlantic sisters." They are referred to in the Book of Job. The Spaniards term them "the little nanny-goats;" and they are sometimes called "the hen and chickens."
