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Serviss, Garrett P. (Garrett Putman), 1851-1929

"Curiosities of the Sky"

In the case of the Hyades, two controlling movements are
manifest: one, affecting five of the stars which form the well-known
figure of a letter ``V,'' is directed northerly; the other, which
controls the direction of two stars, has an easterly trend. The chief
star of the group, Aldebaran, one of the finest of all stars both for
its brilliance and its color, is the most affected by the easterly
motion. In time it will drift entirely out of connection with its
present neighbors. Although the Hyades do not form so compact a group
as the Pleiades in the same constellation, yet their appearance of
relationship is sufficient to awaken a feeling of surprise over the
fact that, as with the stars of the ``Dipper,'' their association is
only temporary or apparent.
The great figure of Orion appears to be more lasting, not because its
stars are physically connected, but because of their great distance,
which renders their movements too deliberate to be exactly
ascertained. Two of the greatest of its stars, Betelgeuse and Rigel,
possess, as far as has been ascertained, no perceptible motion across
the line of sight, but there is a little movement perceptible in the
``Belt.'' At the present time this consists of an almost perfect
straight line, a row of second-magnitude stars about equally spaced
and of the most striking beauty.


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