evidence
of the presence in this luminary of many elements known to exist in our
own sun; amongst others are found sodium, magnesium, calcium, iron, and
bismuth. Hydrogen appears to be absent, or, more correctly, there are no
lines in the star's spectrum corresponding to those of hydrogen in the
solar spectrum. Secchi considers that there is evidence of an actual
change in the spectrum of the star, an opinion in which Mr. Huggins does
not coincide. In the telescope Betelgeuse appears as "a rich and
brilliant gem," says Lassell, "a rich topaz, in hue and brilliancy
differing from any that I have seen."

Turn next to [beta] (Rigel), the brightest star below the belt. This is
a very noted double, and will severely test our observer's telescope, if
small. The components are well separated (see Plate 3), compared with
many easier doubles; the secondary is also of the seventh magnitude, so
that neither as respects closeness nor smallness of the secondary, is
Rigel a difficult object. It is the combination of the two features
which makes it a test-object. Kitchener says a 1-3/4-inch object-glass
should show Rigel double; in earlier editions of his work he gave
2-3/4-inches as the necessary aperture. Smyth mentions Rigel as a test
for a 4-inch aperture, with powers of from 80 to 120. A 3-inch aperture,
however, will certainly show the companion. Rigel is an orange star, the
companion blue.

Turn next to [lambda] the northernmost of the set of three stars in the
head of Orion. This is a triple star, though an aperture of 3 inches
will show it only as a double. The components are 5" apart, the colours
pale white and violet. With the full powers of a 3-1/2-inch glass a
faint companion may be seen above [lambda].

The star [zeta], the lowest in the belt, may be tried with a 3-1/2-inch
glass. It is a close double, the components being nearly equal, and
about 2-1/2" apart (see Plate 3).

For a change we will now try our telescope on a nebula, selecting the
great nebula in the Sword. The place of this object is indicated in
Plate 2. There can be no difficulty in finding it since it is clearly
visible to the naked eye on a moonless night--the only sort of night on
which an observer would care to look at nebulae. A low power should be
employed.

The nebula is shown in Plate 3 as I have seen it with a 3-inch aperture.
We see nothing of those complex streams of light which are portrayed in
the drawings of Herschel, Bond, and Lassell