ant star Fomalhaut in the mouth of the
Southern Fish. To the right of this line, nearly half-way down, is the
rather vague constellation of Aquarius, where a small equilateral
triangle with a star in the centre may be noticed.

The square of Pegasus is not a felicitous illustration of the way in
which the boundaries of the constellations should be defined. There can
be no more naturally associated group than the four stars of this
square, and they ought surely to be included in the same constellation.
Three of the stars--marked a, b, g--do belong to Pegasus; but that at
the fourth corner--also marked a--is placed in a different figure, known
as Andromeda, whereof it is, indeed, the brightest member. The remaining
bright stars of Andromeda are marked b and g, and they are readily
identified by producing one side of the Square of Pegasus in a curved
direction. We have thus a remarkable array of seven stars, which it is
both easy to identify and easy to remember, notwithstanding that they
are contributed to by three different constellations. They are
respectively a, b, and g of Pegasus; a, b, and g of Andromeda; and a of
Perseus. The three form a sort of handle, as it were, extending from one
side of the square, and are a group both striking in appearance, and
useful in the further identification of celestial objects. b Andromedae,
with two smaller stars, form the girdle of the unfortunate heroine.

a Persei lies between two other stars (g and d) of the
same constellation. If we draw a curve through these three and prolong
it in a bold sweep, we are conducted to one of the gems of the northern
heavens--the beautiful star Capella, in Auriga (Fig. 83). Close to
Capella are three small stars forming an isosceles triangle--these are
the Hoedi or Kids. Capella and Vega are, with the exception of
Arcturus, the two most brilliant stars in the northern heavens; and
though Vega is probably the more lustrous of the two, yet the opposite
opinion has been entertained. Different eyes will frequently form
various estimates of the relative brilliancy of stars which approach
each other in brightness. The difficulty of making a satisfactory
comparison between Vega and Capella is greatly increased by the wide
distance in the heavens at which they are separated, as well as by a
slight difference in colour, for Vega is distinctly whiter than Capella.
This contrast between the colour of stars is often a source of
uncertainty in the attempt to