years. Four of these stars are known to be within 10 light years—Alpha Centauri, Sirius, Barnard's "runaway star," and one of the 7th magnitude known as Lalande 21,185. Yet all of these stars, those which are only a few light years away and those which are hundreds of light years away, seem suddenly to be our neighbors, when we think of them as being grouped within the protecting arms of the Milky Way, and the space between, which science has measured, loses some of its awfulness.
Our neighbor Capella is a beautiful star. It flashes like a great solitaire, a star-poem of loveliness in color. Early in August, in the far northeast, its creamy-whiteness is accentuated by seashell pinks which splash through the thickened atmosphere like the effervescence of a rainbow. This star, with two others,—Vega, a delicate blue and Arcturus, an orange-gold,—are the three brightest stars nearest the north. Since they are easy to locate and visible most of the year they are usually the star lover's favorites among the stars. Learn to locate these exquisite isles of starlight by using the Big Dipper as a base from which to start.
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How to locate Vega, Capella, and Arcturus with the aid of the Big Dipper. Note also drawing on page 43.
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