THE NORTHERN CONSTELLATIONS.
marking that side of the body which is farthest from the tail, and which may beconsidered the breast of the bear, are called the pointers, because a line drawnthrough them will, at all times, point very nearly to the star which marks theNorth Pole , and which, in an early part of the lecture, was denominated thePole Star. The knowledge that the distance from one of the pointers to theother may be taken, approximative^, as equal to five degrees, and the apparentdiameter of the sun, or moon, as equal to half a degree, or thirty minutes, willfurnish a young observer with a useful scale, by which to measure angular dis-tances among the stars.
We have stated that a line drawn through the pointers of Ursa Major leads tothe pole star; this line reaches the pole star, at a distance from the pointers ofabout five times their distance from each other, or twenty-five degrees.
The pole star is not precisely the place of the pole ; it is distant from itabout one degree and a half.
Scene No. XXV. —Draco—Ursa Minor .
The pole star forms part of the constellation Ursa Minor ; it is situated atthe extremity of the tail: the figure of this constellation has nearly the samecharacter as that of Ursa Major , and lies in a direction almost parallel to it, butin an inverted position.
Draco.
The constellation Draco separates the figures of Ursa Major and Ursa Minor by a portion of its tail, which has its extremity between the upper pointer ofUrsa Major and the pole star; it sweeps round in front of Ursa Minor , and,after three involutions of its body in contrary directions, by which it encloses iton three sides, terminates in four considerable stars, forming its head, at aboutthe same distance from the feet of Ursa Minor as that which separates thelatter from Ursa Major .
Scene No. XXVI.— Lynx.
T his constellation belongs to the northern hemisphere; it is fifty degreesin length, or extent, in the eastern and western direction; and about twenty-five degrees in its breadth, or extent, in the northern and southern direction.It has no stars of the first, second, or third magnitude ; three of the fourth ;and several of the smaller magnitudes.