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With a telescope we find the cluster to contain quite a number of yet smaller stars, as can be seen by the telescopic view which we give.

The central and brightest star of the group is called Alcyone, and was supposed by Maedler to be the central star of the universe. But this notion is quite baseless.

East of Taurus and near the zenith is Gemini, the Twins, marked by two stars nearly of the first magnitude, Castor and Pollux. The latter is the northernmost and a little the brighter of the two.

The next zodiacal constellation is Cancer, the Crab, but it contains no conspicuous stars. Its most noticeable feature is Prœsepe, a cluster of stars, which are singly invisible to the naked eye, and look collectively like a small patch of light. The smallest telescope will show a dozen stars in the patch.

Leo, the Lion, is also well up in the east. It may be recognised by Regulus, a star nearly of the first magnitude, and a curved row of stars in the form of a sickle, of which Regulus is the handle.

In the south we now have the most brilliant constellation in the heavens, the beautiful Orion. The three stars of the second magnitude in a row forming the belt of the warrior are familiar from childhood to all who watch the sky. Below them hangs another row of three stars, the upper one quite faint. The middle one of these has a hazy aspect, and is really not a star at all, but one of the most splendid objects in the sky, the Great Nebula of Orion. A mere spy-glass will show its character, but a