Page:Field Book of Stars.djvu/13



HE table of contents shows the scheme of study to be pursued, and to facilitate the work it is desirable that the student follow the therein circumscribed order.

A knowledge on the part of the reader of Ursa Major, or "the Dipper" as it is commonly called, and "the Pleiades," the well-known group in Taurus, is presupposed by the author.

With this knowledge as a basis, the student is enabled in any season to take up the study of the constellations. By following out the order dictated, he will in a few nights of observation be enabled to identify the various configurations making up the several constellations that are set apart for study in that particular season.

A large plate, showing the appearance of the heavens at a designated time on the first night of the quarter, is inserted before each season's work. This should be consulted by the student before he makes an observation, in order that he may obtain a comprehensive idea of the relative position of the constellations, and also know in what part of the heavens to locate the constellation which he wishes to identify.

A knowledge of one constellation enables the student