BIBLIOGRAPHY OF IIERSCIIEl's WRITINGS. 555 



Herschel, W.: Synopsis of the Wkitings oi.— Continued. 



A. D. Vol. p. 



17 J5 85 02 Wc ouglit to comparo these elevations, not to the elonds of onr at- 

 mosphere, but to the elevation of the aurora borealis. 

 G2 The density of the solar clouds though very great may not be excced- 



iugly more so than that of the aurora. 

 02 The opaque body of the sun wc know to be of great solidity, and wo 



surmise it to bo diversilied with mountains and valleys. 

 G3 This way of considering the sun removes the great dissimilarity be- 

 tween its condition and that of the other great bodies of the sys- 

 tem. The sun then appears to be nothing else than a very eminent, 

 large, and lucid planet * * * most probably also inhabited by 

 beings whose organs are adapted to the peculiar circumstances of 

 that vast globe. 



63 The heat produced by the sun's rays on the earth is so considerable 



that it may be objected that the surface of the siui nnist be scorched 

 up beyond all conception. 



64 This objection answered by analogies with terrestrial circumstances. 



05 I will now show that our moon is probably inhabited. 



60 The moon is in many ways analogous to the earth, and to complete 

 the analogy it is only needed that it should be inhabited. To this 

 may bo objected that we perceive no largo seas there, that its 

 atmosphere is extremely rare, that there is no rain, etc. 



06 These objections considered. 



07 Suppose an inhabitant of the moon who has not properly considered 



such analogical reasonings as might induce him to surmise that our 

 earth is inhabited, to give it as his opinion that the use of the earth 

 is to illuminate the moon, when direct daylight cannot be had, etc. 

 67 Suppose the inhabitants of the moons of Jupiter, Saturn, and [ I ranus] 

 to look upon their primary planets merely as so many attractive 

 centers to keep together their orbits, etc., etc. 



67 These considerations ought to make the inhabitants of the planets 



wiser than we have supposed those of their satellites to l>e. A\ e 

 surely ought not to say "the sun is merely an attraclive center 



68 ThatTti'rs are suns can hardly admit of a doubt. The sun turns on 



its axis; so do variable stars ; most probably all stars. Stai^ have 

 spots like the sun ; in some stars wc know these spots to be chaiige- 



68 Anall!^-V may induce us to conclude that each of these stars is accom- 



panFed by a group of planets. If these suns themselves are primary 

 planets we may see some thousands of them with onr own eyes, 

 and millions by the telescope, while the same analogy remains in 

 re"-ard to the planets which these suns may support. 



69 The "idea of suns or stars being vierdu the supporters ot systems ot 



planets is not to bo admitted as a general one. 

 69 The stars in very compressed clusters are so close that oven at a great 

 distance of the cluster there will not be room for the crowding in of 

 those planets for whose support these stars may be suppose.l to 



69 As'an i;istance, I take clusters Nos. 26, 28, and 35 of the VI class, and 



nlso verv close double stars. , , ^i i. • 



70 Alslm irae ,wt, of ,he milky way the star, are .e crow.lM tbn m 



I'rnioutc, ol times no less than 258,000 .ta,, ,.a>»ed '"'^^''^ 'f 

 field of my telescope [in R. A. lU"^ oo u i^ , x>. , 



