The Dr. proceeds, “How wonderful is this contrivance! and what

incalculable benefits result from it! The uninterrupted and equable

diurnal rotation of the earth gives us day and night in their

succession, and the annual revolution causes all the varied scenery of

the year. If one motion interfered with the other, the return of the

day and night would be irregular; and the change of seasons attended

with uncertainty to the husbandman. These two motions are, therefore,

harmoniously impressed upon the earth, that the gracious promise of the

great Creator might be fulfilled, ‘While the earth remaineth, seed-time

and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and

night, shall not cease.’

“The double motion of a secondary planet is still more singular than

that of its primary; for (taking the moon for an example) besides its

particular revolution round the earth, which is performed in 27 days,

7 hours, 43 minutes, 4½ seconds; it is carried round the sun with the

earth once a year. Of all the planetary motions, with which we have a

tolerable acquaintance, that of the moon is the most intricate: upwards

of twenty equations are necessary, in the great majority of cases, to

reduce her mean to her true place; yet not one of them is derivable

from the circumstance that she accompanies the earth in its revolution

round the sun. They depend on the different distances of the earth

from the sun in its annual revolution, the position of the lunar nodes,

and various other causes, and not on the annual revolution itself,

a motion which, of all others, might be expected to cause greater

irregularities in her revolution round the earth than could be produced

on that of the latter by the planetary attractions. Who can form an

adequate conception of that influence of the earth which thus draws the

moon with it round the sun, precisely in the same manner as if it were

a part of the earth’s surface, notwithstanding the intervening distance

of about 240,000 miles; and, at the same time, leaves undisturbed the

moon’s proper motion round the earth? And what beneficent purposes are

subserved by this harmony? In consequence of it, we have the periodical

returns of new and full moon; and the ebbing and flowing of the sea,

which depend on the various lunar phases, with respect to the sun and

earth, (as if demonstrable from each of these phases being continually

contemporaneous with the particular phenomenon of the tides,) always

succeed each other with a regularity necessarily equal to that of the

causes which produce them. Thus we see that God is continually present,

supporting all things by his energy, and that, while his working is

manifest, his ways are past finding out.”

Thomson, in his descriptive, philosophical, moral, and religious poem,

admirably well delineates the revolving seasons.

“These, as they change, ALMIGHTY FATHER, these

Are but the _varied_ God. The rolling year

Is full of thee. Forth in the pleasing spring

THY beauty walks. THY tenderness and love

Wide flush the fields; the softening air is balm;

Echo the mountains round; the forest smiles;

And every sense, and every heart is joy.

Then comes THY glory in the summer-months,

With light and heat refulgent. Then THY sun

Shoots full perfection through the swelling year:

And oft THY voice in dreadful thunder speaks;

And oft at dawn, deep noon, or falling eve,

By brooks and groves, in hollow-whispering gales.

THY bounty shines in Autumn unconfin’d,

And spreads a common feast for all that lives.

In Winter awful THOU! with clouds and storms

Around THEE thrown, tempest o’er tempest roll’d.

Majestic darkness! on the whirlwind’s wing,

Riding sublime, THOU bidst the world adore,

And humblest nature with THY northern blast.

Mysterious round! what skill, what force divine,

Deep felt, in these appear! a simple train,

Yet so delightful mix’d, with such kind art,

Such beauty and beneficence combin’d;

Shade, unperceiv’d, so softening into shade;

And all so forming an harmonious whole;

That, as they still succeed, they ravish still.”

He who governs the whole frame of nature, and directs and regulates

these successive changes, must possess almighty _power_, without

which, he would be infinitely inadequate to the task. He who made the

celestial orbs of such a prodigious bulk, and whirls them round with

an almost incredible swiftness, causing the regular return of day and

night, summer and winter, what can he not do? None among the mighty

host of heaven, or among the inhabitants of the earth, can resist his

power, or stay his arm when lifted up. He who created all things out

of nothing, could, if he pleased, extinguish the lights of heaven,

and shake the solid earth to atoms. How easily, then, can he stop our

breath, break the slender thread of life, dissolve our feeble frame, or

hurl guilty and impenitent sinners into the pit of destruction! He who

brought darkness for the space of three days upon the Egyptians, and a

dreadful tempest of forty days and forty nights upon the inhabitants

of the old world, can make the days of the ungodly darkness, and their

nights full of horror. He can strike them with “the arrow that flieth

by day,” his swift pointed lightning; or with the pestilential vapors

of the night, which “walk in darkness,” and give the deadly stroke

unseen.

“Lord, when my thoughtful soul surveys

Fire, air, and earth, and stars and seas,

I call them all thy slaves;

Commissioned by my father’s will,

Poison shall cure, or balm shall kill;

Vernal suns or zephyr’s breath,

May burn or blast the plants to death,

That sharp _December saves_.

What can winds or planets boast

But a precarious power?

The sun is all in darkness lost,

Frost shall be fire, and fire be frost,

When he appoints the hour.”

Shall not, then, such a frail creature as man, think and speak of this

omnipotent Being with the greatest reverence and profound humility?

Oh God, fill the minds of all men with just and enlarged views of thy

majesty and greatness! for thou killest, and thou makest alive; thou

woundest, and thou healest: neither is there any that can deliver out

of thy hand.

Divine _wisdom_ also shines forth in the regular and uninterrupted

succession of the seasons. “The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth,

and by understanding established the heavens.” Not only the different

magnitudes of the heavenly orbs, but their particular distances, and

the harmonious laws by which they move, do loudly proclaim, that he

who formed, ranges, and actuates them all, must be infinitely wise.

Without looking into boundless space, where shine many thousand globes

of light, or fixed stars, supposed to be suns like our own, and to

have planets revolving round them, we may discover luminous displays

of Divine wisdom in our own system, in the constant succession of the

seasons, that may justly excite our wonder and adoration. How wise

must he be who has so exactly proportioned the different magnitudes

of the earth and the sun, and placed them at a proper distance from

each other! Is not equal wisdom discovered in that equable, steady,

swift, and complicate motion of the earth, by which the delightful

and necessary succession of the seasons return? It is the wisdom of

God that at first arranged the motion of the celestial bodies, and

that preserves them in their rapid and yet regular progressions and

rotations, with so much order and harmony. “How manifold, oh Lord, are

thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all. Thy understanding is

infinite, for thou tellest the number of the stars, and callest them

all by their names.”

The _goodness_ of God to the inhabitants of the earth, is also

displayed in the revolving seasons. When the almighty Creator took

a survey of all the works his hands had made, he saw that they were

good; not only conformable to eternal reason, but proper to answer the

end for which he designed them. And this goodness manifested in the

formation of the world, is not more clearly discovered in any thing

than in the return of day and night, heat and cold, summer and winter.

We are pleased with the light in the morning, but it is after we have

rested well in the night: when a few hours are spent, we grow weary

of the light, and wish for the return of the silence and darkness of

the nocturnal season. After a long cold winter, we joyfully welcome

the approach of summer; but when scorched a few months with its heat,

and ready to faint, the return of winter is not so unpleasant to us

as it appeared more early in the spring. But whatever effect these

successions may have upon us, it is certain they are very beneficial.

The light of the day is advantageous for managing the toils and

business of life; and the coolness and stillness of the night are

as suitable for rest and sleep. The summer’s heat is necessary for

ripening the fruits of the earth, and hastening the harvest: but the

winter’s cold and hoary frost are subservient to prepare the earth for

the seed, and render it fertile. Nay, this dreary season is serviceable

both to man and beast; it tends to remove distempers contracted in the

summer’s unwholesome air, and gives a new spring and vigor to nature.

How great, then, is the Divine goodness in preserving the constant and

regular revolution of these seasons, so pleasant and beneficial to

mankind! “Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for

his wonderful works to the children of men.”

We cannot but perceive the _faithfulness_ of God in continuing these

seasons, according to his promise, to this period. We still see day

succeeding day, and year succeeding year: this covenant made with

mankind is inviolably kept. The husbandman cultivates his land,

ploughs up the furrows, casts in the seeds, in hope of the ensuing

harvest, when he expects that his expense, labor, and patience, will

be recompensed with a rich and large increase. But should God, in

anger, open the bottles of heaven, pour down the rain in torrents,

cause swelling floods to arise, and, rolling with alarming impetuosity

forward, to sweep away at once the fruit of all his toil, how great

must be his grief and astonishment! Such were the consternation and

confusion that seized mankind at the time of the flood. The husbandman

had tilled his land, thrown his seed into the ground; he saw it with

pleasure springing up, and promised himself a plentiful harvest: when

quickly, all the flood-gates of heaven were opened, all the fountains

of the great deep were broken up, and a rapid current overflowed the

springing corn, swept away numerous flocks of cattle, overthrew the

habitations of the people, and drowned man and beast to the very

tops of the mountains! But in this general ruin, Noah found favor

with God, and he and his family were preserved in the Ark. When the

waters had abated, and the earth became dry, this pious patriarch,

being much affected with the awful judgment inflicted upon mankind,

especially with the distinguishing mercies conferred upon himself

and family, offered sacrifice, in testimony of his gratitude, to his

great Deliverer, who was well-pleased with it. And on this, he made a

covenant with him, and with all his posterity, in which he promises

that he will not again curse the ground for man’s sake, nor any more

smite every living thing, but that, “while the earth remaineth,”

the successive seasons of the year shall be continued. The awful

disobedience of the inhabitants of the old world rendered it necessary

to inflict so dreadful a judgment; but as soon as it had subsided, God

promised never to punish mankind again so universally. And, in token of

his faithfulness, he set the rainbow in the cloud, to be a sign of his

covenant, which has not been broken, but faithfully kept even to this

day. However the Almighty may contend in anger with particular nations

or provinces, he will no more do so with mankind in general.

How happy is the situation of our native isle! There are few countries,

if any, that exceed it. The climate is temperate; neither days nor

nights are ever of immoderate length; the summer and winter are neither

extremely hot, nor excessively cold; the seed-time and harvest are

generally favorable, and the produce of the land is plenteous. The

inhabitants of some countries endure a long and severe winter, seeing

not the sun for many weeks: nay, there are some places where it rises

not for several months; but these parts are not inhabited in the winter

season. In other countries, the inhabitants are scorched with the rays

of a vertical sun, and wish in vain for the cooling winter’s snow.

Some know not what is meant by the heat of summer, and others are as

ignorant of the cold of winter. Some see the sun, but comparatively

feel not his warming influence; while others are penetrated with his

burning rays all the year. But the people of this country have moderate

summer, heat sufficient for ripening the most useful fruits, and winter

that may be well endured. The days are not so hot in the summer, but

the nights are sufficiently cool for allaying the heat; and they are

long enough in winter for managing the business that is requisite to

be done. Some warmer climates produce more delicious fruits: but no

country under the canopy of the heavens does more abound with all the

substantial supports of life; not only equal to our own consumption,

but frequently to enable us to assist our neighbors. Happy are the

people that are in such a case: yea, thrice happy are they whose God is

Jehovah. All his works praise him: may we join the grand chorus, and

bless his holy name. Surely, if the works of creation were attentively

viewed, and seriously considered, they would not only be truly admired,

but their glorious Author would be sincerely regarded, diligently

worshipped, and practically obeyed.

The following table has been ascribed to the illustrious astronomer,

Dr. Herschell. It is constructed upon a philosophical consideration

of the attraction of the sun and moon in their several positions

respecting the earth, and confirmed by the experience of many years:

actual observation will, without trouble, suggest to the observer what

kind of weather will most probably follow the moon’s entrance into any

of her quarters; and that so near the truth, that in very few instances

will it be found to fail.

+--------------------------+--------------------+--------------------+

| _New or Full Moon._ | _Summer._ | _Winter._ |

+--------------------------+--------------------+--------------------+

|If it be new or full moon,| Very rainy. | Snow and rain. |

|or the moon enters into | | |

|the first or last quarters| | |

|at the hour of 12 | | |

+--------------------------+--------------------+--------------------+

| Between hours of 2 and 4 | Changeable. | Fair and mild. |

+--------------------------+--------------------+--------------------+

| 4 - 6 | Fair. | Fair. |

+--------------------------+--------------------+--------------------+

| 6 - 8 | Fair, if wind N.W. | Fair and frosty, |

| |Rainy, if S. or S.W.| if N. or N.E. |

| | |Rainy, if S. or S.W.|

+--------------------------+--------------------+--------------------+

| 8 - 10 | Ditto. | Ditto. |

+--------------------------+--------------------+--------------------+

| 10 and Midnight | Fair. | Fair and frosty. |

+--------------------------+--------------------+--------------------+

| Midnight and 2 | Ditto. | Hard frost, unless |

| | | wind S. or S.W. |

+--------------------------+--------------------+--------------------+

| 2 - 4 | Cold, with | Snow and Stormy. |

| | frequent showers. | |

+--------------------------+--------------------+--------------------+

| 4 - 6 | Rain. | Ditto. |

+--------------------------+--------------------+--------------------+

| 6 - 8 | Wind and rain. | Stormy. |

+--------------------------+--------------------+--------------------+

| 8 - 10 | Changeable. | Cold, rain if W. |

| | | snow if E. |

+--------------------------+--------------------+--------------------+

| 10 and Noon | Frequent showers. |Cold with high wind.|

+--------------------------+--------------------+--------------------+

Hence, the nearer the time of the moon’s entrance, at full and change,

or quarters, is to midnight (that is, within two hours before or after

midnight), the more fair weather is in summer, but the nearer to

noon the less fair. Also, the moon’s entrance, at full, change, and

quarters, during six of the afternoon hours, viz. from four to ten,

may be followed by fair weather; but this is mostly dependant on the

wind. The same entrance, during all the hours after midnight except the

two first, is unfavorable to fair weather; the like, nearly, may be

observed in winter.[127]

* * * * *

It is an easy and excellent method of conveying instruction, and

impressing it upon the heart, to take occasion from natural objects to

raise the mind to things spiritual and divine. The day and night, and

their alternate changes, may suggest such thoughts as the following, to

a serious mind engaged in meditation.

What a glorious creature is light! How beneficial to this world! How

useful, nay, how necessary for managing those employments which could

not be done in the night! How unwise, then, is he who postpones the

necessary business of the day till night overtake him?--So beneficial,

so requisite, is the light of life in the important work of human

salvation. Does God allow men a day, a gracious season, and the light

of his word, for the good of their souls? Of what extreme folly shall

they be guilty, if they neglect the necessary business till the night

of death come, and they drop into the grave, where there is neither

work, nor wisdom, nor device! Now is the day of grace, and God is

favoring them with the light of reason and revelation. May he give

them wisdom to improve these advantages, to his glory, and their own

happiness! They know not how soon their sun may set, and the night of

death come upon them. If it should be before their everlasting interest

is secured, they will be lost for ever. Oh Lord, teach us so to number

our days, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom!

Night comes on apace; I must soon undress, and lie down to sleep. And

it cannot be long before I must put off this body, lie down in the

grave and sleep in the dust. What shall I do that my soul may not be

found naked, but be clothed and adorned with the glorious robes of

righteousness? Jesus, to whom shall I go but to thee, for thou hast

the words of eternal life!--How awful, and full of horror, is this

approaching darkness! If the imperfection of man did not require the

rest of sleep, surely it would be a pleasant thing always to dwell in

the light. Will it not then, be unspeakably delightful to abide in the

light of God’s countenance, to see the Divine Majesty with a strong and

open eye? and to behold his unutterable glories without any fear of

being deprived of the beatific vision, or of returning night? But oh!

how dismal must that place of darkness be where the light never shines!

where the miserable inhabitants never see one beam of Divine light,

one ray from God’s reconciled face! where the grossest darkness reigns

for ever, without the least hope of returning day! and where nothing

remains for them, but a black, a horrible, an eternal night!

“Is light so grateful to the human sense?

Created light? a faint, refracted ray?

One, distant sun? the shadow, but, of God!

Dark adumbration of the DEITY?

Oh! what is heav’n! that day of endless light?

Where saints shall from th’ essential fountain drink

Of radiance! in God’s full, paternal shine?

Ah! what is Hell? of ever-absent day,

A night all hopeless!--and all endless too!”

The successive changes of day and night may suggest what is frequently

the condition of good people in this world. Their day of prosperity

is sometimes followed with a night of adversity; and then, when

sorrow and weeping have endured for a night, light and joy spring up

in the morning.--Is the light of the day pleasing? rejoice in it with

trembling, for the night is advancing. Is the darkness of the night

solemn and awful? rejoice in hope that the day is approaching. Hence

be instructed, oh my soul, in the concerns of thy eternal welfare. Are

prosperity, health, and relatives, agreeable? rejoice in them as one

that rejoices not: these must have an end; and adversity, sickness, and

death, will come. Are losses, affliction, and pain, not joyous, but

grievous? mourn as one that weeps not: ease, health, and gladness, are

in prospect, and will continue for ever. And how happy and glorious

will that world be, where light and joy shall never cease! But how

dreadful is that abode where darkness, despair, and anguish shall never

end!

The succession of cold and heat, winter and summer, will always suggest

pious and useful reflections in retirement. How pleasing it is to see

the sun return, and to feel his cheering rays, after a long, cold,

and tempestuous winter! So it is delightful to the humble penitent

sinner, after a long season of darkness and sorrow, when the Sun of

Righteousness arises with his reviving influences, and God lifts upon

him the smiles of his reconciled countenance. All misery, and clouds of

doubt and fear, are then dispersed, and heavenly light breaks into the

soul, and fills it with gladness. And does the want of the light of God

cause the serious Christian to mourn and weep, and taste no sweetness

in any of the comforts of life? How extremely miserable, then, must a

person be, who is driven to an everlasting distance from the presence

of God, and from the glorious Sun of Righteousness; only to see his

glory very remote, but never to feel the reviving beams of his love;

and to be punished in hell, far “from the presence of the Lord, and the

glory of his power.”

* * * * *

_Section_ IV.--THE PLANETS AND FIXED STARS.

Mercury -- Venus -- The Earth -- Mars -- Ceres -- Pallas --

Juno -- Vesta -- Jupiter -- Saturn -- Georgium Sidus -- Comets

-- Fixed Stars -- Religious Improvement.

Moses, after stating that God created the sun and the moon, says, “he

made the stars also.” A learned author explains it, “he made the lesser

light, with the stars, to rule the night.” It is very probable that the

whole _solar system_ was created in six days: but as the design of the

sacred historian was to relate what especially belongs to our globe and

its inhabitants, he therefore passes by the planetary system, leaving

it simply included in the plural word, שמים _shamayim_, _heavens_. In

a work of this nature, it is proper to take a concise view of all the

planets, their number, distances, magnitudes, revolutions, &c.

_Wandering Stars_, says Baseley, is one of the many appellations by

which our solar system has been sometimes designated. And the figure

it makes in the heavens is not unaptly expressed by the phraseology.

For we distinguish the planets from the fixed stars by the lustre

of the former, which is only from that side which faces the sun,

and by their motion, which is seldom, and then but apparently,

interrupted. Their brightness seems more uniform, has the cast of

reflected rather than direct illumination, and is altogether free from

scintillation or twinkling. Their connection with the globe we inhabit

is more perceptible, and their relative situation to one another

less stationary. Their distance from us is not so remote, and more

susceptible of calculation. The latter occupy a certain region situated

in our neighborhood between us and the former.

The planets are opake bodies, and nearly spherical. Being opake in

themselves, they become visible only by reflecting the light, which

they receive from the sun. The laws by which they are governed were

discovered by Kepler, who demonstrated that they must necessarily

revolve in elliptical, and not in circular orbits. Astronomers have

divided them into classes: the _primary_ planets are Mercury, Venus,

the Earth, Mars, Ceres, Pallas, Juno, Vesta, Jupiter, Saturn, and the

Georgium Sidus; and the second class includes the satellites which

belong to some of the primary planets, such as the Moon, the attendant

on the Earth, the four moons or satellites that revolve about Jupiter,

the seven that attend Saturn, and the six that wait on the Georgium

Sidus.

_Mercury_ is the smallest of the seven primary planets, and nearest

to the sun; he appears as a small star, and emits a very vivid

white light. He was called by the Greeks Στιλβων, plainly alluding

to his brightness. Costard observes, “ברק אור _Bark-oor_, ברק אורי

_Bark-oori_, or, changing the letter ב into מ as letters of the same

organ frequently are, מרק אורי _Mark-oori_, we have in another dialect,

with a Latin termination _us_, another name of this planet, Mercurius;

and from whence comes _Mercury_, as he is called by us.” This planet

never goes to a greater distance from the sun than about 27° 50ʹ; so

that he appears only a little after sunset, and again a little before

sunrise; he is never longer in setting after the sun than an hour and

fifty minutes nor does he ever rise more than an hour and fifty minutes

before that luminary: he is then about as far as the moon appears to

be from the sun on the second day after the change. His mean distance

from the sun says Dr. O. Gregory, is to that of the earth from the sun

as 387 to 1,000: hence his distance is about thirty-seven millions of

miles. To an inhabitant of Mercury, the sun appears almost three times

broader than we see him from the earth; because the planet is almost

three times nearer to the sun than the earth. Whence also the solar

disk, seen from Mercury, is seven times greater than the disk as it

appears to us, and Mercury has seven times more light than the earth.

“---- Mercury the first,

Near bordering on the day, with speedy wheel

Flies swifter on, inflaming where he comes

With seven-fold splendor.”

The diameter of this planet is more than one-third of the diameter

of the earth, or 3,180 miles. Hence his surface is about 1/7th; and

his magnitude 1/16th of that of the earth. His period of revolution

round the sun is 87 days, 23 hours, 14 minutes, 33 seconds, which is

his year, and falls short of three of our months: hence he moves in

his orbit round the sun at the rate of more than 95,000 miles in an

hour. According to some astronomers, it has not been ascertained by

observation, whether Mercury turns upon his own axis, and therefore it

cannot be certainly affirmed that he has the vicissitude of day and

night, neither the return of summer and winter: because they depend

upon the inclination of the axis of his rotation, which is unknown,

to the plane of the orbit which he describes about the sun; though

there is very little doubt entertained on the subject. But Schroëter

affirms that he “has distinguished spots and mountains, which he

has assiduously followed, till he has arrived at the subsequent

conclusions: that the apparent diameter of the planet is about 6ʺ;

that it does not present any sensible ellipticity; that the mountains

it contains are proportionably larger than those of Venus and the

Earth; that the highest are, as in these two bodies, in the southern

hemisphere; that the angle which the equator makes with its orbit is

very considerable; that the difference of days and seasons ought to be

much greater in Mercury than it is on the earth; that its atmosphere,

like that of Venus, is very dense; and lastly, that its rotation about

its axis is 24 hours, 5 minutes, 30 seconds.” When examined by means

of a telescope magnifying about 200 or 300 times, he appears equally

luminous throughout his whole surface, without the least dark spot. He

exhibits the same difference of phases with the moon, being alternately

horned, gibbous, and shining almost with a round face, though not

entirely full because his enlightened side is never turned directly

toward us; but at all times perfectly well defined without any ragged

edge, and completely bright; and, like the moon, the crescent is always

turned toward the sun. Mercury has no inferior planet known to us, and

if that be actually the case, a spectator on his body will want the

argument taken from the horned phases of the planets, to establish

the true system of the world. But though we do not see any planets

inferior to Mercury, it does by no means follow that there are none:

for we seldom see Mercury himself, he being buried in the rays of the

sun; and a planet much nearer the sun could never be seen from the

earth. The first observation that was ever made of a transit, was by

Gassendi, who saw Mercury on the sun, A.M. November 7, 1631. Since his

time there have occurred seventeen other transits of this planet, the

last of which was at his ascending node on the 9th of November, 1802.

The ascending and descending nodes are in the 16° of Taurus, and 16°

of Scorpio. Other transits are expected in the years 1822, 1832, 1835,

1845, and 1848.

_Venus_, the second planet from the sun in the order of the system,

is the most beautiful star in the heavens, being easily distinguished

by her brightness and whiteness, which exceeds that of all the other

planets, and is so considerable, that in a dusky night she projects

a sensible shadow. Concerning her name, Costard remarks, “From the

Chaldee הן _Han_, or _Hen_, which signifies _gratia_, _decor_,

_elegantia_, with the Æolic digamma Ϝ, comes _Fen_, or _Ven_, and

with the additional termination _us, Venus_; the name by which this

planet was known among the Romans, and by which, from them, it has

been transmitted to us.” The mean distance of Venus from the sun is

about 69,000,000 miles; her diameter is 7,630 miles; she performs

her revolution round the sun in 224 days, 16 hours, 41 minutes, 27

seconds; her diurnal motion on her axis, according to some observations

accurately made by Schroëter, is performed in 23 hours, 21 minutes; and

she moves at the rate of 81,398 miles an hour.

This planet constantly attends the sun, and never departs from him more

than forty-seven degrees, and consequently is never seen at midnight,

nor in opposition to that luminary; being visible only for three or

four hours in a morning or evening, according as she is before or

after the sun. Venus is a _morning star_ when she appears westward

of the sun, for she then rises before him, and is among poets called

Phosphorus or Lucifer--

“----Fair morning star,

That leads on dawning day to yonder world,

The _seat of man_.”

but when eastward of the sun, she is an _evening star_, shining after

he is set, and then the poets give her the name Hesperus or Vesper.

“---- Her lovely beams adorn

As well the dewy eve, as opening morn.”

She is in each situation, alternately, between nine and ten months,

or about 290 days. Pythagoras is said to have first discovered that

Hesperus and Phosphorus were one and the same star. “From the name

Phosphorus,” says Costard, “it seems as if this is the same star that

in Isaiah is called הילל בן שהר _Helal-ben-shahar_, or _Helal, son of

the morning_; a name given it on account of its remarkable brightness.

If so, that is the oldest record of a planet that occurs in any author

whatever now extant: this was about the year before Christ 710.”

Venus is frequently seen in the day-time, when in the inferior part of

her orbit, at about forty degrees distant from the sun.

“No stars besides their radiance can display

In Phœbus’ presence the dread Lord of day;

Ev’n Cynthia’s self, though regent of the night,

Is quite obscur’d by his emergent light;

But VENUS only, as if more divine,

With Phœbus dares in partnership to shine.”

To quiet the minds of some superstitious people, greatly alarmed at

the appearance of Venus in the day-time, Dr. Halley wrote a small

piece, published in the Philosophical Transactions (No. 349) to show

that this was nothing extraordinary, and might be expected every eight

years. Venus, when viewed through a good telescope, is rarely seen to

shine with a full face, but has phases just like those of the moon,

being now gibbous, now horned, &c, and her illuminated part constantly

turned towards the sun, looking toward the east when a morning star,

and toward the west when an evening star. M. de la Hire, in 1700,

through a telescope of sixteen feet, discovered mountains in Venus,

which he found to be larger than those in the moon. These observations

have recently been confirmed by M. Schroëter, who, in the year 1780,

commenced a course of observations on this planet, the results of which

were published in the Philosophical Transactions for 1792.

Venus, as well as Mercury, is sometimes seen to transit the sun’s

disk, in form of a dark round spot; but these transits seldom happen.

The first that was ever observed, was seen by our countryman Jeremiah

Horrox, at Hool, an obscure village fifteen miles north of Liverpool:

his account of which was published by Hevelius at Dantzic in 1661,

under the title, “Venus in sole visa, anno 1631, November 24.” Mr.

Horrox’s friend, William Crabtree, according to his direction, saw

this transit at the same time, at Manchester. Two have occurred in the

last century, namely, one June 6th, 1761, seen by many astronomers,

which excited particular attention by a dissertation published by

Dr. Halley in the Philosophical Transactions (No. 348) in which he

proposed finding, from that transit, the sun’s parallax, and thence the

distance of the earth from the sun: and the other, June 3d, 1769, at

10^{h}. 10ʹ, according to M. de la Lande, and consequently invisible

at Paris and London; but by comparing together two observations made,

one at Mexico, and the other to the north of Petersburgh, we perceive

the sun’s parallax, was determined with great precision. The transits

of Venus, occurring between the years 1631 and 2110, according to the

calculations of persons most eminent in astronomical science, are as

follow:

1631 December 6

1639 December 4

1761 June 5

1769 June 3

1874 December 8

1882 December 6

2004 June 7

2109 December 10

The _Earth_ is the next planet in order; called by the Greeks Γη, and

by the poets Γαια, from γαω to _generate_, _produce_, which, says

Parkhurst, is from the Hebrew, גאה _to grow_ as a plant, because it

produces, or is the mother of all terrestrial things; or in the poetic

language of the Orphic hymn to the earth,

“---- Brings forth her various fruits,

With throes maternal.”

The word used by Moses is הארץ _haarets_, translated _earth_, whence

in the Anglo-Saxon, _eard_ and _eord_; Danish _jord_, _jorden_; Dutch

_erd_ and _aerd_; and Teutonic _erd_, _erde_.

The distance of the earth from the sun is about 95,000,000 miles:

her orbit round the sun is 597,000,000 miles, and she performs her

revolution round the sun, from any equinox or solstice to the same

point again, in 365 days, 5 hours, 49 minutes, 57 seconds; of course,

her hourly motion in her orbit is 68,000 miles. Her diameter is 7,964

miles, her circumference is 25,000 miles, and the time of rotation upon

her axis, from west to east, is 23 hours, 56 minutes, 4 seconds: by

which the inhabitants upon the equator are carried after the rate of

1,042 miles an hour, and those upon the parallel of London, 580 miles,

as we have already noticed. The annual and diurnal motion of the earth

is thus described by Milton:

“She from the West her silent course advances

With inoffensive pace, that spinning sleeps

On her soft axle, while she paces even,

And bears us soft with the smooth air along.”

From this circumstance arises the _apparent_ diurnal revolution of all

the heavenly bodies from east to west.

“The motion of the earth,” says an intelligent writer, “has so long

ceased to be a disputed question, that the arguments on each side are

nearly forgotten; and those who do not scruple to adopt the hypothesis

of the earth’s motions, are often less acquainted with the arguments

on which it is supported, than they would have been in former times,

when their opinions must have been the subjects of fierce contention.”

La Place observes, “that if the earth be at rest, and the stars move,

the velocity of these latter must be immense; and yet all the purposes

thereof might have been answered by a moderate motion of the earth

alone. The moon’s distance from the earth is 240,000 miles; of course,

the length of the tract which it traverses, if it moves round the

earth in 24 hours, is about 1,500,000; that is, at the rate of 62,500

miles an hour, instead of 2,290 miles, which is really the case:

consequently, in each second of time, the moon, known to be the slowest

of all the heavenly bodies, must move more than seventeen miles. Again,

the sun’s mean distance from the earth is about 95,000,000 miles;

consequently, the diurnal path of that luminary, if it revolve about

our globe in twenty-four hours, must be 580,000,000: and therefore, in

a single second, the beat of a clock, he must move nearly 7,000 miles.

Upon the same principle; that is, supposing the earth to be the centre

of the system, and not the sun, the planet Mars, in a second of time,

must travel at the rate of more than 10,000 miles, Jupiter 36,000, and

Saturn 62,000. And, lastly, the fixed stars being yet indefinitely more

remote from the earth than the sun or Saturn, their motion in or near

the equator must be vastly swifter than this. If the earth does not

move round the sun, the sun must move with the moon round the earth;

now; the distance of the sun to that of the moon is nearly 400 to 1,

and the period of the moon being about twenty-eight days, the sun’s

period should be, by the law above mentioned, full 600 years, whereas,

it is, in fact, but a single year. This consideration was, of itself,

thought of weight enough to determine the controversy between the two

opinions, and to establish the motion of the earth in its orbit for

ever.”

That the shape of the earth was an extended plane, and the visible

horizon its utmost bounds, was the opinion of the ancients. But that

it is globular, a little raised at the equator, and flattened at the

poles, being about thirty-seven miles shorter than at the equator, so

as nearly to resemble an orange, is demonstrable on the most evident

and unquestionable principles. 1. All the appearances of the heavens,

both at land and at sea, are the same as they would be if the earth

were a globe. Mariners first begin to lose sight of the lower parts of

objects, and then gradually of the higher parts; also, persons on shore

first discover the masts before the hull of approaching vessels, and

on leaving a port the masts are seen when the hull is out of sight,

which must be owing to the convexity of the water between the eye and

the object, otherwise the largest and most conspicuous parts would have

been visible the longest.

“Behold, when the glad ship shoots from the port

Upon full sail, the hulk first disappears,

And then the lower, then the higher sails;

At length the summit of the towering mast

Alone is seen; nor less, when from the ship

The longing sailor’s eye in hope of shore:

For then, from the top-mast, though more remote

Than either deck, the shore is first beheld.”[128]

2. Navigators sailing round the globe, as Magellan, Drake, Lord Anson,

Cook, and others, have steered their course directly south and west

till they came to the Magellanic sea, and from thence to the north

and west, till they returned to their port from the east; and all the

phenomena which should naturally arise from the earth’s rotundity,

happened to them. Beside, their method of sailing was also founded

upon this hypothesis, which could not have succeeded so happily, if

the earth had been of any other figure. 3. In all lunar eclipses, the

shadow of the earth falling upon the moon is always circular; and a

body can be no other than a globe, which in all situations casts a

circular shadow. It is true, the surface of the earth is not an exact

geometrical globe: but what the earth loses of its sphericity by

its inequalities, as writers on this subject have remarked, is very

inconsiderable: the highest mountains bearing so little proportion to

its bulk, as scarcely to be equivalent to the minutest protuberance on

the surface of an orange, or a grain of dust to a common globe.

“These inequalities to us seem great;

But to an eye that comprehends the whole,

The tumor, which to us so monstrous seems,

Is as a grain of sparkling sand that clings

To the smooth surface of a sphere of glass;

Or as a fly upon the convex dome

Of a sublime, stupendous edifice.”

It is not so easy as some imagine, says a German philosopher and

divine, to determine exactly the size of the earth. It is true, there

is but one longitude; but there are two latitudes, the north and the

south. Both of these begin at the equator; the one extends northward,

the other southward, as far as the arctic and antarctic poles. But, no

one has yet been able to reach either pole. The mountains of ice in

Greenland and the Northern Sea, have always obstructed the passage to

the north pole: and immense fields, mountains, and islands of ice, have

rendered the passage to the south pole impossible. Thanks, however, to

the geometricians, we can at present know very nearly the size of our

globe. According to the most exact calculations, the surface of the

earth is 199,512,595 square miles. The seas and unknown parts of the

earth, by a measurement of the best maps, contain 160,522,026 square

miles. The inhabited parts contain about 38,990,559 square miles,

in the following proportion: Europe--4,456,065; Asia--10,768,823;

Africa--9,654,807; America--14,110,874: Hence it appears that scarcely

one-third of the globe is habitable. It has been calculated, that

there might be at least _three thousand millions_ of men upon the

earth at once: but in reality there are no more than about a _thousand

and eighty millions_: of which there are, in Asia--650 millions; in

Africa--150; in America--150; in Europe--130.

The path traversed by the earth, which, in astronomical language, is

called its orbit, is the apparent path of the sun: it is called the

_ecliptic_, because eclipses, both solar and lunar, always happen in

this circle--also _via solis_, or the sun’s path, because the sun

never departs from it; and, therefore, at any time to denote the sun’s

place in the heavens, astronomers have divided the whole circle of the

earth’s motion in 360 equal parts, which they term _degrees_, and every

thirty of these a _sign_, of which there are twelve. In this circle

the sun advances nearly one degree every twenty-four hours, and thirty

degrees every month; thus passing through the whole 360 degrees in a

year. The signs are called by different names, and, with regard to

their situations and corresponding seasons and months, they stand in

the following order:

_Northern Signs; so denominated as being north of the Equator._

{Aries ♈, the Ram, part of March and April.

Spring. {Taurus ♉, the Bull, April and May.

{Gemini ♊, the Twins, May and June.

{Cancer ♋, the Crab, June and July.

Summer. {Leo ♌, the Lion, July and August.

{Virgo ♍, the Virgin, August and September.

_Southern Signs; so called as being south of the Equator._

{Libra ♎, the Balance, September and October.

Autumn. {Scorpio ♏, the Scorpion, October and November.

{Sagittarius ♐, the Archer, November and December.

{Capricornus ♑, the Goat, December and January.

Winter. {Aquarius ♒, the Water-bearer, January and February.

{Pisces ♓, the Fishes, February and March.

The order of the signs is thus poetically described by Dr. Watts.

“The Ram, the Bull, the heavenly Twins,

And next the Crab the Lion shines,

The Virgin and the Scales:

The Scorpion, Archer, and Sea-goat,

The Man that holds the Water-pot,

And Fish with glittering tails.”

Dr. Long observes, that ♈ represents the horns of the ram; ♉ the head

and horns of the bull; ♊ the figure of gemini, the twins joining hands

and feet; the character cancer ♋ represents the changes of the sun’s

declination from north to south, by two lines or figures drawn so as to

point two contrary ways; ♌ is the tail of the lion; ♍ was originally

the three ears of corn which Virgo held; ♎ is the beam of the balance;

♏ was at first the picture of the scorpion; ♐ the arrow of the Archer;

♑ represents capricorn, the goat-fish; ♒ is a natural representation

of the water’s undulating surface; ♓ is the picture of two fishes tied

together back to back.

The figures of the twelve signs are supposed by Dr. Jennings, and other

astronomers, to be Egyptian hieroglyphics, by which they designed to

exhibit some remarkable natural occurrence in each month, as the sun

passed through these signs. Thus the first three months, beginning

from the vernal equinox, were remarkable for the production of those

animals which they most valued, namely, sheep, kine, and goats. The

lambs came first, which are represented by their parent, the Ram; next

the calves, represented by the Bull; and the kids, which commonly come

in pairs, and which, therefore, gave the name to Gemini, the third

constellation; which was not at first represented by Two Boys, but by

Two Beasts; as referring to the fruitfulness of goats, in producing

_twin kids_ about the time when the sun was in that constellation.

When, in the fourth month, the sun is arrived at the summer solstice,

he discontinues his progress towards the north pole, and begins to

go back again to the southward; this retrograde motion the Egyptians

expressed by the Crab, which is said to go backwards. The excessive

heat that usually follows in the next month, is signified by the Lion;

an animal remarkable for his strength and fierceness; or, as others

observe, when that animal, driven by thirst from the desert, made his

appearance on the banks of the Nile. Nothing could be more proper

than the symbol for the harvest: namely, the Virgin reaper or gleaner

with an ear of corn in her hand. The seventh constellation, when the

sun arrives at the autumnal equinox, is expressed by the Balance or

Scales, in equilibrio, because the days and nights, being then of the

same length, seemed to indicate an equilibrium like that instrument.

October is often a sickly season, when the surfeits acquired in the

hot months of the summer produce their fatal effects; the symbol is

therefore the Scorpion, who wounds with a sting in his tail, as he

recedes; or, according to others, when certain regular winds brought

forth a burning vapor like the poison of the scorpion. The diversion

of hunting, which is chiefly followed after the fall of the leaf, is

designated by Sagittarius, or the archer. The Goat, which is an animal

that delights to browse up hill and to climb the highest rocks, is the

emblem of the winter solstice, when the sun begins to ascend from the

southern tropic, and is continually mounting higher and higher for the

ensuing half year. Aquarius, or the Water-bearer, fitly represents the

rains, or snows, of the winter. And the Two Fishes in a band, had, it

is imagined, reference to the prime fishing season, which began in

February.

The names given to our months originated as follows:

The name given to the month of _January_ by the Romans was taken

from _Janus_, one of their divinities, to whom they gave two faces;

because on the one side, the first day of this month looked towards

the new year, and on the other towards the old one. It was called

_wolf-monat_ by our Saxon ancestors, on account of the danger they

then experienced from wolves. Some etymologists derive _February_ from

_Februa_, an epithet given to Juno, as the goddess of purification;

while others attribute the origin of the name to _Februa_, a feast

held by the Romans in this month, in behalf of the manes of the

deceased. The Saxons named February _sprout kele_, on account of the

sprouts of the cole-wort which began to appear in this month. Among

the Romans, _March_, from Mars, was the first month, and marriages

made in this month were accounted unhappy. The Saxons called March

_lent-monat_, or _length-moneth_, “because the days did first begin,

in length, to exceed the nights.”--_April_ is derived from _Aprilis_,

of _aperio_, I open; because the earth, in this month, begins to open

her bosom for the production of vegetables. The Saxons called this

month _oster-monat_, from the goddess Eoster, or because the winds

were found to blow generally from the east in this month.--_May_ is

so called from _Maia_, the mother of Mercury, to whom sacrifices were

offered by the Romans on the first of this month; or, according to

some, from respect to the senators and nobles of Rome, who were named

_Majores_, as the following month was termed Junius, in honor of the

youth of Rome. The Saxons called May, _tri-milki_, because, in that

month, they began to milk their kine three times in the day.--The

Saxons called June _weyd-monat_, because their beasts did then _weyd_

or feed in the meadows.--The word _July_ is derived from the Latin

_Julius_, the surname of C. Cæsar, the dictator, who was born in it.

Mark Antony first gave to this month the name of July, which was before

called _Quintilis_, as being the fifth month in the year, in the old

Roman calender established by Romulus. July was called by the Saxons,

_hew-monat_, or _hey-monat_, because therein they usually mowed, and

made their hay-harvest.--_Sextilis_ was the ancient Roman name for

_September_, it being the sixth month from March. The Emperor Augustus

changed this name, and gave it his own, because in this month Cæsar

Augustus took possession of his first consulship, celebrated three

triumphs, reduced Egypt under the power of the Roman people, and put

an end to all civil wars. “The Saxons called August _arn-monat_ (more

rightly _barn-monat_,) intending thereby the then filling of their

barnes with corne.” _September_ is composed of _septem_, seven, and the

termination _ber_, like _lis_ in _Aprilis_, _Quintilis_, _Sextilis_.

This rule will also apply to the three following months, Octo-ber.

Novem-ber, Decem-ber. Our Saxon ancestors called it _Gerst-monat_,

“for that barley which that moneth commonly yielded was anciently

called gerst.”--_October_ was called _Domitianus_ in the time of

Domitian: but, after his death, by the decree of the senate, it took

the name of October, every one hating the name and memory of so

detestable a tyrant. It was called _wyn-monat_, or wine month, by the

Saxons--The Saxons called _November wint-monat_, or wind-month, on

account of the prevalence of high winds in this month.--_December_ was

called _winter-monat_ by the Saxons; but, after they were converted

to Christianity, it received the name of _heligh-monat_, or holy

month.[129]

The names of our days are of Heathen origin. The seven planets were

anciently looked on as presiding over the affairs of the world, and to

take it by turns each one hour at a time, according to the following

order: Saturn first, then Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury, and

last of all, the Moon. Hence they denominated each day of the week

from the planet whose turn it was to preside the first hour of the

nychthemeron, a term compounded of νυξ, _night_, and ἡμερα, _day_,

which implies both night and day, and is divided into twenty-four

parts, called _hours_. Thus, assigning the first hour of Saturday to

Saturn, the second will fall to Jupiter, the third to Mars, and so the

twenty-second of the same nychthemeron will fall to Saturn again, and

therefore the twenty-third to Jupiter, and the last to Mars: so that

on the first hour of the next day, it will fall to the Sun to preside;

and by the like manner of reckoning, the first hour of the next will

fall to the Moon, of the next to Mars, of the next to Mercury, of the

next to Jupiter, and the next to Venus: hence the days of the week came

to be distinguished by the Latin names of _Dies Saturni_, _Solis_,

_Lunæ_, _Martis_, _Mercurii_, _Jovis_, and _Veneris_. The ancient

Saxons had a great many idols, seven of which were appropriated to the

seven days of the week, because of some worship that was offered to

each idol on its respective day. The northern nations substituted, for

the Roman Divinities, such of their own as most nearly resembled them

in their peculiar attributes, and hence the derivation of the names

now in use. These were Seater, the Sun, the Moon, Tuisco, Woden, Thor,

Friga: hence among us the names of Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday,

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. For, as Saturday, Sunday, and Monday,

plainly denote the day of Saturn, the Sun, and the Moon; so Tuesday,

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, denote the day of Tuisco, Woden, Thor,

and Friga, which are the Saxon names respectively answering to Mars,

Mercury, Jupiter, and Venus. Verstegan, in his “Restitution of Decayed

Intelligence,” describes the Saxon deities who presided over each day

of the week, and gives plates of the idols, pp. 74-85.

How amazing it is that this ponderous globe should be suspended in

the fluid air, without any visible support, and upheld only by the

sovereign will of its almighty Creator! His power, who “hangeth the

earth upon nothing,” is inconceivably great; and the revolutions of

this globe produce the most beneficial effects. The daily rotation of

the earth causes the uniform succession of light and darkness; and

its annual motion occasions the difference of the length of the days

and nights, and the beautiful diversity of the seasons. Many pious

Christians, who read the Scriptures to great personal advantage,

but who are unacquainted with the science of astronomy, are apt to

doubt the truth of the astronomical principles concerning the shape

and motion of the earth, because, as Dr. O. Gregory judiciously

observes, they think them contrary to divine revelation. Such persons

would do well to consider for what purpose the Holy Scriptures were

written, whether as a measure of faith, or as a rule to regulate our

philosophical notions? Gassendus, though he does not give a direct

answer to the question, has made the following very pertinent

observations on the subject. “There are,” says he, “two sacred volumes,

the one written, called the Bible; the other Nature, or the World;

God having manifested himself by two lights, the one of revelation,

and the other of demonstration; accordingly the interpreters of the

former are divines; of the latter mathematicians. As to matters of

natural knowledge, the mathematicians are to be consulted; and as to

objects of faith, the prophets; the former being no less interpreters,

or apostles, from God to men than the latter. And as the mathematician

would be judged to wander out of his province, if he should pretend

to controvert, or set aside any article of faith from principles of

geometry; so it must be granted, the divines are no less out of their

limits, when they venture to pronounce on a point of natural knowledge,

beyond the reach of any not versed in geometry and optics, merely

from Holy Scripture, which does not pretend to teach any thing of the

matter.”

_Mars_ is the first of the four superior planets in order from the sun,

his orbit being immediately beyond that of the earth. He was called by

the Greeks Αρης, the supposed god of war, which, says Parkhurst, comes

from the Hebrew עריץ _violent_, _destructive_. Costard remarks, “This

planet, I suppose, was called ערע _Ara_, ערץ _Aretz_, Αρης, and, in

another dialect, מערץ _Ma-aretz_, or _Mars_, in a softer pronunciation,

from his _strong glowing brightness_.” He is distinguished from the

other planets by the red and fiery appearance, of his disk: whether his

ruddy troubled color arises from a natural disposition to reflect the

red rays of light best, or from a thick atmosphere attending it, is

rather uncertain; but it is generally attributed to the density of his

atmosphere.

“In larger circuit rolls the orb of Mars,

Guiltless of stern debate, and wasteful wars,

As some have erring taught: he journies on,

Impell’d and nourish’d by the attractive sun;

Like us, his seasons and his days he owes

To the vast bounty which from Phœbus flows.”

His figure, like that of the earth, is an oblate spheroid. His mean

distance from the sun is 145,000,000 miles, and he travels round that

common centre of gravity in about 687 of our days, or 1 year, 321 days,

22 hours, 18 minutes, 27 seconds, which is nearly equal to two of

our years; and therefore his velocity in his orbit is at the rate of

55,000 miles an hour. He has likewise a rotation upon his axis, which

is performed in 1 day, 39 minutes, 22 seconds. This was discovered

by means of spots seen on his surface. Dr. Hook, in 1665, observed

several spots, which, having a motion, he concluded that the planet

revolved upon its axis. In 1666, M. Cassini saw several spots in the

two hemispheres of Mars, which, by continuing his observations very

diligently, he found to move from east to west, and to return in the

space of 24 hours, 40 minutes, to their former situation. Whence both

the motion and period, or natural day of this planet, were determined.

In 1781, Dr. Herschell observed the spots of Mars very minutely, from

the motion of which he has found his rotation upon his axis to be

performed in 24 hours, 39 minutes, 21-2/3 seconds; and he says that

there cannot be more than two seconds of uncertainty in this result.

The different seasons will take place on this planet very much like

what they are known to do upon our earth, with this difference, that

the seasons there will be almost as long again as with us, on account

of the time he takes in moving round the sun being nearly twice as long

as our year. The diameter of Mars being 4,135 miles, he is about 2/11,

or less than a fifth, and more than a sixth part as large as the earth;

and if any moon attend him, she must be very small, for it has not yet

been discovered by the best telescopes of our most eminent astronomers;

if without a moon, walking his round in perpetual solitude, he must

consequently want that division of time, which, from the moon’s

revolution round the earth, is called a month.

From the greater distance of Mars in his orbit than our earth is,

the inhabitants there will scarcely see Mercury, unless it be when

he appears on the sun’s face, and passes over him like a dark spot,

in the same manner as he sometimes does to us. Venus will to them

appear somewhat similar to the appearances of Mercury to our earth,

the apparent distance from the sun being nearly the same to them as

Mercury is to us. Our earth to them, also, will be an inferior planet,

or within his orbit, being nearer to the sun, in a way similar to what

Venus appears to us, and will alternately be a morning or evening star;

and our moon, which will always be seen to accompany her, when in a

position to have the benefit of the sun’s light, will not be seen at a

greater distance, than about a semi-diameter of the sun or moon from it.

This planet being half as far again from the sun as our earth is, his

light and heat are not half so much as our own. When in opposition

to the sun, he is found to be five times nearer to us than when in

conjunction; and, therefore, he appears so much bigger and brighter at

one time than another. In 1719, his apparent magnitude and brightness

were so much increased, that, by the uninformed, he was taken for a new

star.

The telescopic appearance of Mars is very variable. This planet

exhibits larger and more remarkable spots than any of the others.

The belts and cloudy appearances are found to change their shape and

arrangement frequently. The predominant brightness of the polar regions

leads to the supposition that those parts of his surface, like the

poles of the earth, are intensely frozen, or always covered with snow;

and Dr. Herschell imagines that the changes in brightness are connected

with the summer and winter seasons on that planet. The phases of Mars

were first discovered by Galileo. Having his light from the sun, and

revolving round it, he has an increase and decrease like the moon.

At his quadratures, he appears gibbous, but never horned, like Venus,

Mercury, and the Moon; which shows, that his orbit includes that of the

earth, and that it is from the sun that he receives his light.

Between the orbit of Mars and that of Jupiter, the smaller planetary

bodies, lately discovered, revolve. _Ceres_ was discovered on the 1st

of January, 1801, by M. Piazzi, astronomer at Palermo, in the island

of Sicily. When viewed through a good telescope, it is of a ruddy

color, appears to be of the size of a star of the eighth magnitude,

and surrounded with a dense atmosphere. Her mean distance from the sun

is 260,000,000 miles; and her revolution is performed in 4 years, 7

months, 10 days. Dr. Herschell and Schroëter differ very much as to

the magnitude of this planet; the former says the diameter is only 160

miles, but the latter makes it more than ten times greater, or 1,624

miles. _Pallas_ was discovered on the 28th of March, 1802, by Dr.

Olbers, of Bremen. Its mean distance from the sun 270,000,000 miles;

its diameter 80 miles; and it performs its revolution in about 4 years,

280 days. _Juno_ was discovered on the 1st of September, 1804, by M.

Harding, of Lilienthal. Its mean distance from the sun is 290,000,000

miles; and its diameter is 119 miles, and the time of revolution round

the sun 5 years, 181 days. _Vesta_ was discovered by Dr. Olbers, on

the 29th of March, 1807. It is nearer to Mars than either of the other

newly discovered planets; and the revolution through its orbit is

performed in less time. The size of this planet is not known. Its light

is more intense, pure, and white, than any of the other three.

A century and half ago it was conjectured, says a very intelligent

author, that there must be a planet between the orbits of Jupiter

and Mars, on account of the distance subsisting between those two

planets. The discovery of Ceres confirmed this happy conjecture; but

the opinion which it seemed to establish respecting the harmony of the

solar system, appeared to be completely overturned by the discovery

of Pallas and Juno. Dr. Olbers, willing to find a theory that should

account for the facts newly ascertained, imagined that these small

celestial bodies were merely the fragments of a larger planet, which

had burst asunder by some internal convulsion, and that several more

might yet be discovered between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. He

therefore concluded, that though the orbits of all these fragments

might be differently inclined to the ecliptic, yet, as they must

have all diverged from the same point, they ought to have two common

points of re-union, or two nodes in opposite regions of the heavens,

through which all the planetary fragments must sooner or later pass.

One of these nodes Dr. Olbers found to be in Virgo, and the other in

the Whale; and it was actually in the latter of these regions that M.

Harding discovered the planet Juno. With the intention, therefore, of

detecting other fragments of the supposed planet, Dr. Olbers examined,

thrice every year, all the little stars in the opposite constellation

of the Virgin and the Whale, till his labors were crowned with success,

by the discovery of a new planet in the constellation of Virgo, to

which he gave the name of Vesta.

The existence of four planets between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter,

(continues the same author,) revolving round the sun at nearly the

same distances, and differing from all the other planets in their

diminutive size, and in the form and position of their orbits, is

acknowledged to be one of the most singular phenomena in the history of

astronomy. The discordance of these phenomena with the regularity of

the planetary distances, and with the general harmony of the system,

naturally suggests the opinion, that the inequalities in this part

of the system were produced by some great convulsion, and that the

four planets, as we have already hinted, are the fragments of a large

celestial body, which once existed between Mars and Jupiter. To suppose

them independent planets, as they must necessarily be if they did not

originally form one, their diminutive size, the great eccentricity

and inclination of their orbits, and their numerous intersections,

when projected on the plane of the ecliptic, are phenomena absolutely

inexplicable on every principle of science, and subversive of that

harmony and order which before the discovery of these bodies, seemed

to pervade the planetary system. Admitting, however, the hypothesis

that these planetary bodies, are the remains of a larger body, which

circulated round the sun, nearly in the orbit of the greatest fragment,

the system resumes its order, and we discover a regular procession in

the distances of the planets, and a general harmony in the form and

position of their orbits. But, independently of analogical reasoning,

the elements of the new planets furnish several direct arguments, drawn

from the eccentricity and inclination of their orbits, and from the

position of their perihelia and nodes; and all concurring to show, that

the four new planets have diverged from one point, and have, therefore,

been originally combined in a larger body.

_Jupiter_ is the largest of all the planetary bodies, and, next to

Venus the brightest. He was called by the Greeks Ζευς, which is from

ζεω, _to be hot_, or, says Parkhurst, immediately from the Hebrew זי

_to shine_, compounded, perhaps, with יש _substance_, q.d. _the shining

substance_; a name very justly given to this planet, on account of his

strong and clear light.

----“In distant skies

Revolves the mighty magnitude of Jove,

With kingly state, the rival of the sun.”

His mean distance from the sun is 490,000,000 miles, and his diameter

is 89,170 miles, or more than 11 times that of the earth, and therefore

his magnitude is 1,400 times greater than our earth; of course, as the

surface of a globe increases according to the square of its diameter,

our earth will, to the inhabitants of Jupiter, appear 121 times less

than this noble planet appears to us. His revolution round the sun,

from east to west, is performed in 11 years, 315 days, 14 hours, 39

minutes, 2 seconds, which is nearly twelve of our years; and his motion

in his orbit is 29,000 miles an hour. He performs his diurnal rotation

upon his axis in 9 hours, 55 minutes, 33 seconds, by which motion his

equatorial parts are carried round at the amazing rate of 26,000 miles

an hour, which is about twenty-five times the velocity of the like

parts of our earth. He has, of course, a rapid succession of days, as

the poet observes,

“In ample compass Jove conducts his sphere,

And later finishes his tedious year;

Yet swiftly on his axle turn’d, regains

The frequent aid of day to warm his plains.”

The axis of Jupiter is nearly perpendicular to his orbit, so that he

has no sensible change of seasons. This is not the work of chance, as

Dr. O. Gregory observes, but wisely ordered by the Divine Architect;

for if the axis of this planet were inclined any considerable number

of degrees, so many degrees round each pole would be almost six years

together in darkness. And as each degree of a great circle on this

planet contains more than 700 miles, it is natural to conceive, that

vast tracts of land would be rendered uninhabitable by any considerable

inclination of his axis.

The appearance of this planet, through a telescope, opens a vast

field for interesting inquiry. His surface is not equally bright, but

variegated with certain bands, or belts, of a dusky appearance: they

run parallel to each other, and are continued round the body of the

planet. They are not regular or constant in their appearance: sometimes

only one is seen; at other times six or eight. The breadth of them

is likewise variable; one belt is sometimes becoming narrow, while

another, in its neighborhood, grows broader as if one had flowed into

the other: in these cases, an oblique belt has been observed to be

between them, as if for the purpose of establishing a communication.

Sometimes, one or more spots are formed between the belts, which

increase till the whole is united in a large dusky belt. There are also

bright spots to be discovered on Jupiter’s surface; these are rather

more permanent than the belts, and re-appear after unequal intervals of

time. The remarkable spot, by whose motion the rotation of Jupiter upon

his own axis was first ascertained, disappeared in the year 1694, and

was not seen again till 1708, when it re-appeared exactly in the same

place, and has been occasionally seen ever since.

Jupiter is enlightened by four moons, or satellites, each of them

larger than that with which we are supplied, and which revolve at

different distances from that planet. In the solar system the moons,

or satellites, revolve round their respective primary planets as

centres, in the same manner as the primary planets revolve round the

sun. By means of Jupiter’s satellites, a method has been obtained

for demonstrating that the motion of light is progressive, and not

instantaneous, as was formerly supposed; which discovery is important

to the interests of science. M. Huygens, in his Treatise on Light,

concludes from these eclipses, that light transmits itself about

600,000 times faster than sound.

Distances and Revolutions of Jupiter’s Satellites.

Revolution.

Distance. _d._ _h._ _m._

1st Satellite 250,000 1 18 36

2d 401,000 3 13 15

3d 648,000 7 3 59

4th 1,128,000 16 18 30

They are thus referred to by Mallet:

“About him round _four_ planetary moons,

On earth with wonder all night long beheld,

Moon above moon, his fair attendants dance.”

To a spectator placed on the surface of Jupiter, each of the satellites

would put on the phases of the moon; but as the distance of any of

them from Jupiter is but small, when compared with the distance of

that planet from the sun, the satellites are therefore illuminated by

the sun very nearly in the same manner with the primary itself; hence

they appear to us always round, having constantly the greatest part

of their enlightened half turned towards the earth: and indeed they

are so small, that were they to put on the phases of the moon, these

phases could scarcely be discerned through the best telescopes. When

the satellites pass through their inferior semicircles, they may cast

a shadow upon their primary, and thus cause an eclipse of the sun to

his inhabitants; and in some situations this shadow may be observed

going before or following the satellite. On the other hand, in passing

through their superior semicircles, the satellites may be eclipsed in

the same manner as our moon by passing through the shadow of Jupiter:

and this is actually the case with the first, second, and third; but

the fourth, by reason of the extent of its orbit, passes sometimes

above or below the shadow, as is the case with our moon.

These satellites were first discovered on the 7th of January, 1610,

by the celebrated Galileo, who called them _Medician Stars_, in honor

of the family of the Medici, dukes of Tuscany, his patrons. These

satellites, revolving about Jupiter at different distances, from west

to east, when viewed through a telescope, make a beautiful appearance.

As our moon revolves round the earth, enlightening the nights, by

reflecting the light she receives from the sun; so these satellites,

revolving round Jupiter, may also be supposed to enlighten the nights

of that planet.

_Saturn_ is a very conspicuous planet, though he shines with a pale and

feeble light, very unlike that of Jupiter and the other planets. He

was called by the Greeks φαινων. “From the account given by Diodorus

Siculus,” says Costard, “it seems as if the Chaldeans called this

planet by some name not widely different from this of the Greeks.

In the language of Chaldea, the verb פנא _phana_, or פנה _phanah_,

signifies _convertere se_, _divertere se_, _declinare_. And whatever

_vanishes_, or _disappears_, very properly _declines_, or _turns

aside_, from our view. This planet, therefore, was most probably called

פן _phen_, or פין _phain_, and, with a Greek termination, φαινων, on

account of his _withdrawing_ himself, by reason of his distance. And

this conjecture is yet further confirmed from his name in another

dialect, or among another people. For from סתר _sater, latuit,

abscondit se_, with the paragogic ן _nun_ which is not unusual in the

formation of Eastern words, comes the word סתרן _Saturn_, and with the

Latin termination _us, Saturnus_.”

His mean distance from the sun is 900,000,000 miles, consequently his

motion in his orbit is proportionably slow; and his annual revolution

round the sun, from west to east, being so much longer likewise than

that of the other planets, he takes 29 years, 164 days, 7 hours,

21 minutes, 50 seconds, which is almost _thirty_ of our years, to

accomplish it, in his orbit travelling with a velocity of 22,000 miles

an hour. His diameter is 79,000 miles; and his magnitude is about 1,000

times that of the earth. The time of rotation upon his axis is 10

hours, 17 minutes.

“Still further off, scarce warm’d by Phœbus’ ray,

Through his wide orbit, Saturn wheels away;

How great the change, could we be wafted there!

How slow the seasons! and how long the year!”

There is a singular and curious appendage to Saturn, namely, a thin,

broad, opake ring, encompassing the body of the planet, without

touching it; like the horizon of an artificial globe; it appears to be

suspended round the planet, and to keep its place without any immediate

connection with it. The distance of this prodigious circle from the

body of the planet is usually stated to be about 21,000 miles.

The dimensions of the ring, or of the two rings with the space between

them, Dr. Herschell has given as follows:

Miles.

Inner diameter of the smaller ring 146,345

Outside diameter of ditto 184,393

Inner diameter of the larger ring 190,248

Outside diameter of ditto 204,883

Breadth of the inner ring 20,000

Breadth of the outer ring 7,200

Breadth of the vacant space, or dark zone 2,839

It puts on different appearances to us, sometimes being seen quite

open, or as a wide oval, and at others, only as a single line. When

our eye is in the plane of the ring, or looking at it directly on

the edge, it is invisible to us; and it is in this situation twice

in each revolution of the planet; that is, once in about fifteen

years: at these times, he appears quite round, for nine or ten months

together. The ring was invisible to us on the 15th of June, 1803, and,

since that time, gradually increased in light and breadth for about

seven years: and, after which, has again decreased, till, as before,

after an interval of fifteen years, in the present year 1818, the

ring is again edgewise to us, and invisible. With telescopes of great

magnifying power, two belts or stripes have been discovered on Saturn;

they appear parallel to the ring, and are supposed to be permanent. Of

what component materials this ring is composed, or by what means it is

suspended, we as yet remain ignorant: but of its use, it is supposed to

supply light and heat to the planet, agreeably to the observation of a

poet who has evinced an extensive acquaintance with philosophy.

“Muse! raise thy voice, mysterious truth to sing,

How o’er the copious orb a lucid ring,

Opake and broad, is seen its arch to spread,

Round the big globe at stated periods led;

Perhaps (its use unknown) with gather’d heat

To aid the regions of that gelid seat,

The want of nearer Phœbus to supply,

And warm with reflex beams his summer sky;

Else might the high-plac’d world, expos’d to frost,

Lie waste, in one eternal winter lost.”

Besides the ring, Saturn is also furnished with seven attendant moons,

or satellites, which move around him at different distances, in a way

similar to those of Jupiter.

Distances and Revolutions of Saturn’s Satellites.

Revolution.

Distance. _d._ _h._ _m._ _s._

1st Satellite 172,000 1 21 18 26

2d 217,000 2 17 44 51

3d 315,000 4 12 25 11

4th 705,000 15 22 41 14

5th 2,126,000 79 7 53 42

6th 137,000 1 8 53 9

7th 107,000 0 22 37 30

The sixth and seventh satellites were discovered by Dr. Herschell in

1787 and 1788: they are nearer to Saturn than any of the other five;

but, to prevent confusion, they have been called the 6th and 7th. The

5th satellite has been observed by Dr. Herschell to turn once round its

axis, exactly in the time in which it revolves round Saturn: in this

respect it resembles our moon. Their distance from us is so far, as not

to be easily visible, even with a good telescope, unless the air be

exceedingly clear.

It was for ages that astronomical science limited the solar system to

six planets, and Saturn was considered as its utmost extent. Vitruvius,

speaking of the planet Saturn, says, that star “is near the extremity

of the world, and touches the frozen regions of heaven.” He did not

understand the extent of our planetary system.

It is to the indefatigable application of Dr. Herschell that we are

indebted for the discovery of a new planet, which is the fourth of the

superior ones then known, and, being at twice the distance of Saturn

from the sun, has quadrupled the bounds formerly assigned to the solar

system. This planet was discovered on the 13th of March, 1781, and

is called by different names: the discoverer bestowed upon it that

of _Georgium Sidus_, in honor of our present venerable and beloved

sovereign; by the French it is called _Herschell_, and by the Italians,

_Uranus_. This important discovery is very deservedly noticed by the

Poet Laureat, in his Ode entitled “Carmen Seculare for the year 1800.”

“Mathesis with uplifted eye,

Tracing the wonders of the sky,

Beholds new constellations rise,

New systems crown the argent skies;

Views with new lustre round the glowing pole,

Wide his stupendous orb the _Georgian Planet_ roll.”

On the 11th January, 1787, Dr. Herschell discovered the second and

fourth satellites which attend his own planet the Georgium Sidus; and

in the following years, previously to 1791, he observed four others

revolving round the same body. Though this celebrated astronomer was

the first who discovered the Georgium Sidus to be one of the planets

of the solar system, yet no doubt can be entertained of its having

been before observed and considered as a fixed star. Flamsteed in

1690, Mayer in 1756, and Monnier in 1769, determined the places of

three stars which cannot now be found. And M. La Place, according to

his theory of Jupiter and Saturn, has found that the Georgium Sidus

was _exactly_ in those three points at those very times. These truly

singular occurrences leave no doubt of the identity of these three

stars with the new planet. The lines which Mallet applied to Saturn are

now, with a little alteration, more applicable to the Georgium Sidus,

or Herschell planet.

“Last, outmost Herschell walks his frontier round,

The boundary of worlds; with his pale moons,

Faint-glimmering through the darkness night has thrown,

Deep-dy’d and dead, o’er this chill globe forlorn:

An endless desert, where extreme of cold

Eternal sits, as in his native seat,

On wintry hills of never-thawing ice;

Such Herschell’s earth.”

His mean distance from the sun is about 1,800,000,000 miles, and he

performs his revolution from west to east round the sun in 83 years,

294 days, 8 hours, 39 minutes; and in his orbit he moves with a

velocity of 15,846 miles an hour. His diameter is 4½ times larger than

that of the earth, being more than 35,000 miles; and his magnitude

is 80½ times larger than that of the earth. The orbit in which he

revolves is nineteen times further from the sun than the earth’s

orbit; consequently he has 361 times less light and heat from the

sun than we have. Notwithstanding this, his proportion of light is

considerable; for having been calculated, it is found to be equal to

the effect of 284 of our full moons. When the sky is very serene and

clear, and the moon absent, this planet may be perceived with the naked

eye, unassisted by a telescope: and it appears as a star of the fifth

magnitude, with a blueish white light, and a brilliancy between that of

Venus and the Moon.

The want of light arising from the great distance of this planet from

the sun, is supplied by six satellites, which revolve at different

distances round their primary.

Distances and Revolutions of the Satellites of the Georgium Sidus.

Revolution.

Distance. _d._ _h._ _m._ _s._

1st Satellite 226,450 5 21 25 0

2d 293,053 8 17 0 0

3d 342,784 10 23 0 0

4th 392,514 13 11 0 0

5th 785,028 38 1 49 0

6th 1,570,057 107 7 35 10

All these satellites, it has been said, perform their revolutions in

their orbits contrary to the order of the signs; that is, their real

motion is retrograde, but probably, as suggested by Dr. Hutton, this

is an optical illusion.[130] As the indefatigable Dr. Herschell has

already discovered six satellites belonging to this planet, does not

its immense distance from the sun leave some ground for conjecture,

that there may remain some undiscovered, and that his attendants are as

numerous, if not more so, than those of Saturn?

Characters used for the Sun, Moon, and Planets.

☉ The Sun

☽ The Moon

☿ Mercury

♀ Venus

⊕ The Earth

♂ Mars

♃ Jupiter

♄ Saturn

♅ Herschell, or Georgium Sidus.

The mark which characterises the planet Herschell is the initial of the

discoverer’s name, intersected by a cross bar to represent a cross, by

which to denote that the discovery of the planet took place after the

birth of Christ.

Astronomy produces calculations concerning the magnitudes, distances,

and revolutions of the planets, and their respective satellites,

which, to the uninformed, appear absurd, chimerical, and presumptuous;

while, probably, they laugh at such notions as were received among men,

when even the wisest of them were weak enough to believe, that the

earth was an immense plain, situated in the centre of the universe;

that the vault of heaven was of crystal; and that the sun was no other

than a plate of red hot iron, about as large as the Peloponnessus. The

following thoughts, communicated by my much esteemed friend Thomas

Exley, A. M. may assist such persons to entertain more favorable

sentiments of the science of astronomy, and also serve to enlarge their

views of the Supreme Being.

“Many persons who have not had the advantages of proper instruction

in mathematical science, cannot be persuaded that it is in the power

of man to ascertain the distances of the sun, moon, and planets,

and, of course, pay little regard to the assertions of astronomers

on this subject. Sometimes, they are bold enough to say the thing is

impossible, because no one has ever been to any of those bodies. Let

such persons consider, that it is not necessary to go to a remote

object in order to measure its distance; for that purpose, it will be

sufficient to know the length of a line at the place of the spectator,

and the inclination of this line to two others directed from its

extremities to the object; for, on the length of this line, and the

position of the two others, depends the distance of the object from the

ends of that line.

“Thus, if I wish to know the distance of a neighboring tower, or

other object beyond a river, or in some other way inaccessible; I

measure any convenient line terminating in my station, and by some

instrument proper for measuring angles, I ascertain the position of

my measured line to the lines connecting its extreme points and the

object. On these data depends the distance, and from this line and

these angles accurately measured, the exact distance may be with

great ease truly found. It is on similar principles that astronomers

investigate the distances of the heavenly bodies. They take as the

given or measured line, which may be called the base, some line on the

earth, the semi-diameter for instance, as being the most convenient.

The angle formed, or rather contained by two lines drawn from the sun

or planet to the ends of the semi-diameter of the earth, is called the

parallax, because it shows the difference of the apparent situation

of the object as seen from the extremities of the semi-diameter, that

is, it measures the arc of a great circle in the heavens contained

between its two apparent places. Hence to ascertain its parallax, or

difference of the apparent place when the object is viewed from the

other end of the semi-diameter, becomes a problem of great importance

in astronomy; for this being truly discovered, the distance of the

planet will be obtained with the utmost exactitude. If any other line

besides the semi-diameter of the earth, whose length and position are

known, be used as a base, and the parallax in respect of this line be

found, the same conclusions will follow. The chief difficulty in this

affair arises from the smallness of the angle to be measured, which

is a consequence of the greatness of the distance in respect of the

earth’s semi-diameter. Several ingenious methods have been proposed

and employed by astronomers to discover the distances of the sun and

planets, but nothing serves this purpose so well as the transits of

Venus over the sun’s disk. At certain periods, which can be foretold

by astronomers, this planet passes exactly between us and the sun, and

is seen as a dark round spot for some hours, moving in a line across

the sun’s face or disk. The observer should be furnished with a good

chronometer, or pendulum clock with seconds, to note the time of the

transit; and good instruments, to take the apparent diameters of the

sun and Venus, and her greatest distance from the sun’s limb while

passing over his disk: from these observations, and the known phenomena

of the motions of the earth and Venus, the parallax may be found. But

if two observers, at very distant places of the earth properly chosen,

make these observations, the parallax may be obtained with much greater

ease and nicety; because the distance of the apparent tracks of Venus

across the sun as seen from the two places, and also the difference of

the time of the passage, arises from the parallax of Venus and that

of the sun. The two last transits, which happened in the years 1761

and 1769, were carefully observed for this purpose; and it is to the

results of these observations that the present astronomers are indebted

for their more accurate knowledge of the distances of the planets, and

the dimensions of the solar system.

“It should be observed, that if the parallax, and consequently the

distance of any one of the planets by any means becomes known, the same

is easily obtained for each of the other planets, from the relation

which has been clearly discovered to subsist between the periodical

times of revolution of the planets round the sun, and their distances

from that central luminary. Astronomers have most decidedly proved that

the square of the time in which any planet revolves is to the square

of the time in which any other revolves, as the cube of the distance

of the first, is to the cube of the distance of the other; and since

all the times are known from observation, if the distance of any one be

determined, there is no difficulty at all to find the distances of all

the other planets from the sun.

“It has also been matter of great surprise to the unlearned, that

astronomers should pretend to tell the magnitudes of the sun and

planets. But this is no difficult problem when the distance is known.

The _apparent_ diameter is readily found from observation, and on this

and the distance depends the _true_ diameter. If the apparent diameters

of two objects be equal, the true diameter of the one will be greater

as it is more remote; and the apparent diameter of any object will

increase as the distance of it from the observer diminishes. From this

every one sees, that a knowledge of the distance of the object is an

indispensible element for finding its bulk; and, according to the

accuracy of the measure of the distance, will be that of the measure of

the magnitude, provided the apparent distance be truly taken; and this,

in the present improved state of our instruments, presents no obstacle.

There can be no doubt but that astronomers are very near the truth in

the numbers which they now give us for expressing the distances and

magnitudes of the sun and planets.

“The telescope has been of singular use to the astronomer; it has

shown him many phenomena of the heavenly bodies, concerning which he

would otherwise have been totally ignorant. It is by the assistance of

this noble instrument that we have attained to the knowledge of the

rotations of the sun and planets, the phases of Venus and Mercury,

Saturn’s ring, and many other particulars exceedingly interesting. The

telescope has discovered several planets which otherwise would have

revolved in their courses unknown and unnoticed by the inhabitants of

this globe; it has informed us that several of the planets have moons

moving round them, as our moon revolves round the earth; besides, it

has presented to our view an innumerable multitude of fixed stars which

without this assistance we should never have seen.

“It is no wonder that great efforts have been made to improve this

excellent instrument; these efforts have been attended with great

success, and what may be further done in this respect we cannot tell;

however, there is a limit to the improvements of the telescope, for

after it has attained a certain degree of magnifying power, the motes

and vapors in the atmosphere would be so magnified as to occupy its

whole field of view, and thus render it a useless incumbrance.”

Who can contemplate the power which produced the solar system, at once

so magnificent, beautiful, and delightful, without astonishment and

admiration? The planets are kept in a regular motion, and retained in

an invariable course round the sun, by the power of this luminary’s

attraction or gravity. These bodies have a projectile force, being

propelled forwards in a right line, which is the nature of all simple

motion; but the sun’s attraction combining with their own projectile

force, withdraws them from their rectilineal courses, and preserves

the most perfect harmony in the system. This wonderful mechanism

was originally impressed on the system by its infinitely wise and

omnipotent Creator; to which primary impulse it has with undeviating

uniformity adhered, having never suffered in its operations from the

greatest distance of space, or intervals of time!

Surely no power less than that which at first gave existence and

modification to matter, is equal to the government of the world. The

solar orb and the planetary bodies could no more subsist in their

present form and order, without a Divine, supporting, and directing

hand, than they could at the beginning make themselves. What is that

general law or force called _gravitation_, without which the whole

frame of nature would soon be dissolved? Is it not a power constantly

issuing from the Deity, and which if he should suspend but for one

moment, the whole creation would sink into ruins? How inconceivably

great and operative must that power be, that is present throughout the

universe, with all the heavenly orbs to preserve them in their courses;

and on this earth, with every creature, and every particle of matter,

to preserve its present form!

In addition to the planets and their satellites, there are _Comets_,

which revolve round the sun, and, consequently, are a part of the

solar system. They have often a long tail, in appearance resembling

hair, issuing from that side which is turned away from the sun. Comets

are popularly divided into three kinds, namely, bearded, tailed, and

hairy: but this arrangement seems to apply rather to the different

circumstances of the same comet, than to the phenomena of several.

Thus, when a comet is eastward of the sun, and moves with him, it is

said to be bearded, because the light precedes it in the manner of a

beard: but when it is westward of him, it is said to be tailed, because

the train of light follows it in the manner of a tail: and, lastly,

when the sun and comet are diametrically opposite, the earth being

between them, the train is hid behind the body of the comet, excepting

the extremities, which being broader than the body of the comet, appear

round it like a border of hair (_coma_), from which circumstance it is

said to be hairy, and is denominated a comet.

Without attending to the variety of opinions which philosophers and

astronomers have entertained concerning the nature and use of comets,

we may affirm, that they have been considered as alarming phenomena,

displayed by the Divine Being to warn mankind of the near approach of

some dreadful calamity, such as wars, pestilence, and famine. This

opinion prevailed during the dark ages between the decline of the Roman

empire, and the dawn of the Reformation. To this apprehension some of

our modern poets have alluded in strong and descriptive language. Young

says,

“Hast thou ne’er seen the comet’s flaming light?

Th’ illustrious stranger passing, terror sheds

On gazing nations, from his fiery train

Of length enormous; takes his ample round

Through depths of ether; coasts unnumber’d worlds

Of more than solar glory; doubles wide

Heaven’s mighty cape; and then revisits earth,

From the long travel of a thousand years.”

Milton uses still greater strength of language when he compares his

hero to a comet:

“Incensed with indignation, Satan stood

Unterrified, and like a comet burn’d

That fines the length of Ophiucus huge

In the arctic sky, and from his horrid hair

Shakes pestilence and war.”

Similar ideas are finely expressed by Savage:

“In fancy’s eye encount’ring armies glare,

And sanguine ensigns wave unfurled in air!

Hence the deep vulgar deem impending fate,

A monarch ruined, or unpeopled state.

Thus comets, dreadful visitants! arise,

To _them_ wild omens, science to the _wise_,

These mark the comet to the sun incline,

While deep red flames around its centre shine!

While its fierce rear a winding trail displays,

And lights all ether with a sweeping blaze!

Or when, compell’d, it flies the torrid zone,

And shoots by worlds unnumbered and unknown;

By worlds, whose people, all aghast with fear,

May view that minister of vengeance near.”

Notwithstanding the present improved state of astronomical science, it

is evident that the philosophy of comets is very imperfect. Kepler,

though in other respects a very great genius, and to whose useful

labors astronomy is deeply indebted, indulged in the most extravagant

conjectures; he imagined that the planets were large animals, swimming

round the sun: and that the comets were animals still more huge and

monstrous, which had been generated in the celestial spaces. Jean

Bodin, a learned Frenchman of the 16th century, entertained an opinion,

if possible, still more absurd and ridiculous. He maintained that the

comets are spirits, which having lived on the earth innumerable ages,

and being at last arrived on the confines of death, celebrated their

last triumph, or are recalled to the firmament like shining stars! Mr.

Whiston was of opinion, that comets are so many hells, appointed in

their orbits alternately to carry the damned into the confines of the

sun, there to be scorched by its violent heat, and then to return with

them beyond the orb of Saturn, there to starve them in those cold and

dismal regions. Thus

“Born in an age more curious than devout;

More fond to fix the place of heaven or hell,

Than studious this to shun, or that secure.”[131]

James Bernoulli, in his Systema Cometarum, says, that comets are no

other than the satellites of some very distant planet, which is itself

invisible to us on account of its vast distance, as are also the

satellites, unless when they are in that part of their orbits which

is nearest the earth. Comets, according to Des Cartes, were formerly

fixed stars: but which becoming gradually covered with maculæ, and

at length wholly deprived of their light, cannot keep their places,

but are carried off by the vortices of the circumjacent stars; and in

proportion to their magnitude and solidity, moved in such a manner as

to be brought nearer the orb of Saturn; and thus, coming within reach

of the sun’s light, are rendered visible.