very much brighter in the past. It is noted, indeed, as a brilliant
first magnitude star by Al Sufi, that famous Persian astronomer who
lived, as we have seen, in the tenth century. Ptolemy also notes it as
of the first magnitude.

In the neighbourhood of Auriga, and further than it from the Pole Star,
are several remarkable constellations--Taurus, Orion, Gemini, Canis
Minor, and Canis Major (see Plate XX., p. 296).

The first of these, _Taurus_ (or the Bull), contains two conspicuous
star groups--the Pleiades and the Hyades. The Pleiades are six or seven
small stars quite close together, the majority of which are of the
fourth magnitude. This group is sometimes occulted by the moon. The way
in which the stars composing it are arranged is somewhat similar to that
in the Plough, though of course on a scale ever so much smaller. The
impression which the group itself gives to the casual glance is thus
admirably pictured in Tennyson's _Locksley Hall_:--

"Many a night I saw the Pleiads, rising through the mellow shade,
Glitter like a swarm of fire-flies tangled in a silver braid."

[Illustration: PLATE XX. ORION AND HIS NEIGHBOURS

We see here that magnificent region of the sky which contains the
brightest star of all--Sirius. Note also especially the Milky Way, the
Pleiades, the Hyades, and the "Belt" and "Sword" of Orion.

(Page 296)]

The group of the Hyades occupies the "head" of the Bull, and is much
more spread out than that of the Pleiades. It is composed besides of
brighter stars, the brightest being one of the first magnitude,
Aldebaran. This star is of a red colour, and is sometimes known as the
"Eye of the Bull."

The constellation of _Orion_ is easily recognised as an irregular
quadrilateral formed of four bright stars, two of which, Betelgeux
(reddish) and Rigel (brilliant white), are of the first magnitude. In
the middle of the quadrilateral is a row of three second magnitude
stars, known as the "Belt" of Orion. Jutting off from this is another
row of stars called the "Sword" of Orion.

The constellation of _Gemini_, or the Twins, contains two bright
stars--Castor and Pollux--close to each other. Pollux, though marked
with the Greek letter [b], is the brighter of the two, and nearly of the
standard first magnitude.

Just further from the Pole than Gemini, is the constellation of _Canis
Minor_, or the Lesser Dog. Its chief star is a white first magnitude
one--Procyon.

Still further again from t