SIR WILLIAM HERSCHEL 113 



A well connected series of objects, such as mentioned above, has 

 led us to infer that all nebulae consist of stars. This being admitted, 

 we were authorized to extend our analogical way of reasoning a 

 little further. Many of the nebulae had no other appearance than 

 that whitish cloudiness, on "the blue ground on which they seemed to 

 be projected; and why the same cause should not be assigned to ex- 

 plain the most extensive nebulosities, as well as those that amounted 

 only to a few minutes of a degree in size, did not appear. It could 

 not be inconsistent to call up a telescopic milky way, at an immense 

 distance, to account for such a phenomenon; and if any part of the 

 nebulosity seemed detached from the rest, or contained a visible star 

 or two, the probability of seeing a few near stars, apparently scat- 

 tered over the far distant regions of myriads of sidereal collections, 

 rendered nebulous by their distance, would also clear up these 

 singularities. 



In order to be more easily understood in his remarks on the com- 

 parative disposition of the heavenly bodies, Dr. H. mentions some of 

 the particulars which introduced the ideas of connection and dis- 

 junction: for these, being properly founded on an examination of 

 objects that may be reviewed at any time, will be of considerable im- 

 portance to the validity of what we may advance with regard to the 

 lately discovered nebulous stars. On June 27, 1786, he saw a 

 beautiful cluster of very small stars of various sizes, about 15' in 

 diameter, and very rich of stars. On viewing this object, it is im- 

 possible to withhold our assent to the idea which occurs, that these 

 stars are connected so far with one another as to be gathered to- 

 gether, within a certain space, of little extent when compared to the 

 vast expanse of the heavens. As this phenomenon has been repeat- 

 edly seen in a thousand cases. Dr. H. thinks he may justly lay great 

 stress on the idea of such stars being connected. On September 9, 

 1779, he discovered a very small star near c Bootis. The question 

 here occurring, whether it had any connection with e or not, was 

 determined in the negative ; for, considering the number of stars 

 scattered in a variety of places, it is very far from being uncommon, 

 that a star at a great distance should happen to be nearly in a line 

 drawn from the sun through e, and thus constitute the observed 

 double star. September 7, 1782, when Dr. H. first saw the planetary 

 nebula near v Aquarii, he pronounced it to be a system whose parts 



