Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 58.djvu/27

Rh seen without difficulty whenever the constellation is visible. Note the three bright stars lying nearly in an east and west line and forming the belt of the warrior. South of these will be seen three fainter ones, hanging below the belt, as it were, and forming the sword. To a keen eye, which sharply defines the stars, this middle star will appear hazy. It is the nebula in question. Its character will be strongly brought out by the smallest telescope, even by an opera-glass. Drawings of it have been made by numerous astronomers, the comparison of



which has given rise to the question whether the object is variable. It cannot be said that this question is yet decided; but the best opinion would probably be in the negative. In recent times the improvements of the photographic process have led to the representation of the object by photography. A photograph made by Mr. A. A. Common, F.R.S., with a reflecting telescope, gives so excellent an impression of the object that by his consent we reproduce it.

The most remarkable feature connected with the nebula of Orion