Chapter XVII: Appendix: F

FIRST MAGNITUDE STARS

The brightness of a star is known by its magnitude. A star of the first magnitude is one of the 20 brightest stars, and is 2½ times as bright as a star of the second magnitude; a star of the second magnitude is 2½ times as bright as a star of the third magnitude; and so on. A star of the sixth magnitude can just be seen with the naked eye on a clear night when there is no Moon.

Fifteen of the twenty first magnitude stars can be seen in our latitude, and these are:

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& OF STAR CONSTELLATION

1. Sirius, the Dog Star, in Canis Major
2. Capella “ Auriga
3. Arcturus “ Bootes
4. Vega “ Lyra
5. Rigel (β) “ Orion
6. Procyon “ Canis Minor
7. Betelgeux (α) “ Orion
8. Altair “ Aquila
9. Aldebaran “ Taurus
10. Spica “ Virgo
11. Antares “ Scorpius
12. Pollux “ Gemini
13. Regulus “ Leo
14. Deneb “ Cygnus
15. Fomalhaut “ Piscis Australis