han Argelander, makes Ursa Major
precisely equal to Hercules in the number of stars, his enumeration
showing two hundred and twenty-seven in each constellation, while,
according to him, Draco follows very closely after, with two hundred and
twenty stars. Yet, on account of the minuteness of the majority of their
stars, neither of these constellations makes by any means as brilliant a
display as does Orion, to which Argelander assigns only one hundred and
fifteen naked-eye stars, and Heis one hundred and thirty-six.

We begin in Hercules with the star kappa, a pretty little double of
magnitudes five and a half and seven, distance 31", p. 10 deg., colors
yellow and red. Not far away we find, in gamma, a larger star with a
fainter companion, the magnitudes in this case being three and a half
and nine, distance 38", p. 242 deg., colors white and faint blue or lilac.
One of the most beautiful of double stars is alpha Herculis. The
magnitudes are three and six, distance 4.7", p. 118 deg., colors orange and
green, very distinct. Variability has been ascribed to each of the stars
in turn. It is not known that they constitute a binary system, because
no certain evidence of motion has been obtained. Another very beautiful
and easily separated double is delta, magnitudes three and eight,
distance 19", p. 175 deg., colors pale green and purple.

Sweeping northwestward to zeta, we encounter a celebrated binary, to
separate which at present requires the higher powers of a six-inch
glass. The magnitudes are three and six and a half, distance in 1899,
0.6", p. 264 deg.; in 1900, 0.8", p. 239 deg.. The period of revolution is
thirty-five years, and two complete revolutions have been observed. The
apparent distance changes from 0.6" to 1.6". They were at their extreme
distance in 1884.

Two pleasing little doubles are Sigma 2101, magnitudes six and nine,
distance 4", p. 57 deg., and Sigma 2104, magnitudes six and eight, distance
6", p. 20 deg.. At the northern end of the constellation is 42, a double
that requires the light-grasping power of our largest glass. Its
magnitudes are six and twelve, distance 20", p. 94 deg.. In rho we discover
another distinctly colored double, both stars being greenish or bluish,
with a difference of tone. The magnitudes are four and five and a half,
distance 3.7", p. 309 deg.. But the double 95 is yet more remarkable for the
colors of its stars. Their magnitudes are five and five and a half,
distance 6",