Below Orion ([Plate 14]) is a small trapezium of stars which are in the constellation of Lepus, or the Hare. The head is marked by a small triangle, as seen on the map.
To the north of Orion, and a little lower down ([Plate 12]), are two bright stars near together, one of the first and the other of the second magnitude. The latter is called Castor, and the former Pollux. These stars are in the constellation of Gemini, or the Twins. A line of three smaller stars just in the edge of the Milky Way marks the feet, and another line of three the knees. Pollux forms a large triangle with Capella and Betelgeuse.
Constellations Visible in January. At eight in the evening on the 15th of January, Vega, Altair, the Dolphin, Aquarius, and Fomalhaut have disappeared in the west; Deneb and the Square of Pegasus are near the horizon; while Capella and Aldebaran are nearly overhead. Two stars of exceeding brilliancy have come up in the west. The one farthest to the south ([Plate 14]) is the brightest star in the whole heavens. It is called Sirius, or the Dogstar; and is in the constellation of Canis Major, or the Great Dog, which can be readily traced by the lines on the map.
The other bright star is between Sirius and Pollux ([Plate 12]), and is called Procyon. It is in Canis Minor, or the Little Dog. The only other prominent star in this constellation is one of the third magnitude near Procyon.
Procyon, Sirius, and Betelgeuse form a large equilateral triangle.
Orion and the group of constellations about it constitute by far the most brilliant portion of the heavens, as seen in our latitude. There are, in all, only about twenty stars of the first magnitude, and seven of these are in this immediate vicinity.
Constellations Visible in February. If we look at the heavens at the same time in the evening about the middle of February, we shall miss Cygnus and Pegasus from the west. Auriga and Orion are nearly overhead.
Southeast of the Great Bear ([Plate 15]) is a red star of the first magnitude, called Regulus, in the [28] constellation of Leo, or the Lion. There are five stars near Regulus, which together with it form a group often called the Sickle. The star in the tail is Denebola, which makes a right-angled triangle with two others near it.
MAP SHOWING THE LOCATIONS OF NORTHERN CONSTELLATIONS