Page:The Music of the Spheres.djvu/110

to draw it back and curl it behind the light of Denebola, where it has since remained.

 

Boötes, the Herdsman

The brilliant golden-yellow star, Arcturus, has always been a favorite among star-gazers. This star hangs like a great globe of tinted light from the end of a curve drawn from the Big Dipper's handle and is one of the first stars to appear during the summer evenings.

Two earthly honors have been given Arcturus which are well worth noting. In the excess of their great admiration, the Egyptian people in ancient times oriented huge temples to it at the cost of tremendous labor; it was also given special mention in the Bible.

Up near the Arctic circle, this lovely star never sets, but travels in a wide circular path above the horizon. Allen remarks on its use as timepiece for the seal-netters during the night fishing in December and January. The netters judge the time by the position of the star on the four points of the compass, in much the same manner that the Big Dipper is used for a clock as it swings around the pole. The heavens would appear rather strange to us as viewed from the far north for Polaris would rest almost at the zenith and the Big Dipper with its handle weighted down by Arcturus, would seem to encircle the sky above the earth on an unfamiliar pathway.

Boötes, the constellation in which Arcturus lies, is usually de-

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