Page:Star Lore Of All Ages, 1911.pdf/293

Rh ε and ζ Germinorum bear respectively the Arab names "Mebsuta" and "Mekbuda."

According to Allen η Geminorum bears the name of "Propus." On Burritt's map this star name is given to a fifth magnitude star a few degrees south and west of η. Eta is noted as marking the locality where Sir William Herschel discovered the planet Uranus, on the 13th of March, 1781. He thought at first that it was a comet, and reported it as such. Maskelyne, however, suspected its planetary nature, and the succeeding year it was announced as a new planet by Lexell and La Place.

"Continental astronomers designated the planet as 'Herschel' and we find this title in text-books as late as fifty years ago. Bode suggested the present title Uranus, to conform to the mythological nomenclature of the other planets, and because the name of the oldest god was especially applicable to the oldest, the most distant body then known to our system." , Star Names and Their Meanings.

There is a star of the fifth magnitude, just west of μ Geminorum, which is noteworthy as marking the location of the summer solstice, in the tropic of Cancer, the place occupied by the sun on the longest day of the year, and is moreover the dividing limit between the torrid and north temperate zones.

Gemini contains a beautiful star cluster in M 35. La Place thus describes this magnificent object: "A marvellously striking object. No one can see it for the first time without an exclamation. ... The field is perfectly full of brilliant stars, unusually equal in magnitude and distribution over the whole area. Nothing but a sight of the object can convey an adequate idea of its exquisite beauty."

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