BIBLIOGRAPHY OF HERSCHEl's WRITINGS. 555 



Herschel, W.: Synopsis of the Writings ok— Coutinued. 

 A. D. Vol. p. 



17i)5 85 62 We ought to compare these elevations, not to the clouds of our at- 

 mosphere, but to the elevation of the aurora borealis. 

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

 ingly more so than that of the aurora. 

 02 The opaque body of the sun v^c know to be of great solidity, and we 



surmise it to be diversified with mountains and valleys. 

 63 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 aro 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 sun must be scorched 

 up beyond all conception. 



64 This objection answered by analogies with terrestrial circumstances. 

 C5 I will now show that our moon is probably inhabited. 



Go 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 large seas there, that its 

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



66 These objections considered. 



67 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 [ Uranusi 

 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 be. AVe 

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

 to us." 



68 That stars are suns can hardly admit of a doubt. The sun turns on 



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

 spots like the sun ; in some stars wo know these spots to be change- 

 able. 



68 Analogy may induce us to conclude that each of these stars is accom- 



panied by a grouji of planets. If these suns themselves are primary 

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

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

 regard to the planets which these suns may support. 



69 The idea of suns or stars being mcrchj the supporters of systems of 



planets is not to be admitted as a general one. 

 69 The stars in very compressed clusters are so close that even 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 supposed to 

 exist. 



69 As an instance, I take clusters Nos. 26, 28, and So of the VI class, and 



also very close double stars. 



70 Also, in some jiarts of the milky way the stars are so crowded that in 



41 minutes of times no less than 258,000 stars passed through the 

 field of my telescope [in R. A. W^^ Su-"— 20^ 12™; N. P. D., 73° 54']. 



