34 ASTRONOMICAL DISCOVERIES. 



which windows are the principal parts of the niicrocositj or little world, 

 two nostrils, two eyes, two ears, and one mouth, — so in the heavens, as 

 in macrocosm or great world, there are two favorable stars (Jupiter and 

 Venus,) two unpropitious (Mars and Saturn,) two luminaries (the Sun 

 and Moon,) and Mercury alone undecided and indifTerent. From which 

 and many other phenomena of nature, such as the seven metals. Sec, 

 wliich it were tedious to enumerate, we gather that the number of plan- 

 ets is necessarily seven. Moreover, the satellites are invisible to the na- 

 ked eve, and therefore can exercise no influence over the Earth, and 

 therefore would be useless, and therefore do not exist. Besides, as well 

 the .lews and other ancient nations as modern Europeans have adopted 

 tlie division of the week into seven days, and have named them from 

 the seven planets ; now, if we increase the number of planets, this 

 whole system falls to the ground ! ! ! " * 



The author of the preceding was no other than Francesco Sizzi, a 

 Tuscan astromomer, who sustained, in his day, no inconsiderable repu- 

 tation. 



Between the dale of this important achievement of the telescope and 

 the commencement of the present century, were discovered, at different 

 periods and by different astronomers, the two rings and seven satellites 

 of Saturn, tlie planet Uranus, and his six attendant moons. Within the 

 first seven years of the nineteenth century, the four Asteroids, Vesta, 

 Judo, Ceres and Pallas were first seen ; and, finally, a fifth, which has 

 been called Astrasa, was discovered by Prof. Hencke, of Dresden, on the 

 8th of December, 1845. 



But the present year, 1846, has been rendered memorable by one of 

 the most brilliant triumphs of modern science. This is nothing less 

 than the discovery of a primary planet, of great magnitude, revolving 

 far beyond the orbit of Uranus. The probability of the existence of 

 such a body had, indeed, been suggested by several writers before M. Le 

 Verrier, the distinguished discoverer, commenced his investigations. By 

 others, however, it had been decidedly maintained that the orbit of Ur- 

 anus was, in reality, the limit of our system. "We have," says Dr. 

 Lardncr, " direct proofs of a very cogent character in favor of the posi- 

 tion that Ilersciiel is the last and most remote member of the solar .sys- 

 tem, "t 't appears, however, that the reasons assigned by the learned 

 lecturer for this conclusion, were not supported by tlie facts of the case. 



M. Le Verrier was induced to engage in his calculations by the cir- 

 cumstance that numerous perturbations had been observed in the mo- 



* Drinkwater's Life of Galileo, as quoted by Prof. Nicfiol. 



t Lardiier's Lectures, Vol. I. p. 255. 



