Location.—Columba is situated just south of Lepus. A line drawn from Rigel, in Orion, to β Leporis, and prolonged as far again, ends near α and β, the two brightest stars in Columba.

A line drawn from the easternmost star in the belt of Orion, 32° directly south, will point out Phaet, in Columba. It makes with Sirius, in Canis Major, and Naos, in the Ship, a large equilateral triangle.

The star β ColumbÆ may be known by means of a smaller star just east of it, marked γ.

The Chinese call α Chang Jin, the old Folks. Lockyer thinks it was of importance in Egyptian temple worship, and observed from Edfu and PhilÆ as far back as 6400 b.c.

On a clear starlight night there are not more than a thousand stars visible to the naked eye at one time. The largest telescope reveals nearly a hundred million.