St. Nicholas/Volume 40/Number 5/Nature and Science/Constellations
Two March Constellations
In a telescope, Venus shows phases similar to those of the moon. Venus is the bright star which has been visible in the southwest ever since last November. It has been moving farther and farther away from the sun toward the east. At the same time it has steadily grown brighter, and during the month of March, it will be at its greatest brilliancy. It is so bright that, if you are in a dark room into which it is shining, you can see that it casts a shadow. If you could look at it with a telescope,
Map of Pegasus and Andromeda
N indicates the north it would appear very much like the moon before it is half full, just as it is represented in the drawing.
The stars near it form the square of Pegasus, which you will see standing up on one corner, with one side nearly pointing at Venus. Pegasus is the winged horse, the square is its body, and the triangle of stars forms its head.
The star at the northwest corner of the square is the same as that in the forehead of Andromeda, the adjoining constellation. Andromeda, you remember, was, in Grecian mythology, the maiden who was chained to a rock and was threatened by a terrible monster. She was rescued by Perseus, who turned the monster into stone by showing him the Gorgon’s head. The faint stars branching off from the middle bright one form her girdle. Close to the one under her right arm is a hazy spot of light which is known as the great nebula in Andromeda. It is one of the finest nebule in the heavens, as we can see from the photograph reproduced on the next page.—Caroline E. Furness, Vassar College Observatory.