of the Sun and Fixed Stars. ry 
lefs violent and Jefs pernicious caufe may be affigned to, ac~ 
count for all the appearances of the {pot. When we fee a 
dark belt near the equator of the planct Jupiter, we do not 
recur to earthquakes and volcanoes for its origin. An atmo- 
iphere, with its natural changes, will explain fuch belts. Gur 
fpot on the fun may be accounted for on the fame principles, 
The earth is furrounded by an atmofphere compoled of va~ 
rious elaftic fluids. The fun alfo has its atmofphere; and if 
dome of the fluids which enter into its compofition fhould 
‘be of a fhining brilliancy, in the manner that will be ex- 
plained hereafter, while others. are merely tranfparent, any 
temporary caufe which may remeve the lucid fluid will per- 
mit us to fee the body of the fun through the tranfparent 
ones. - If an obferver were placed on the moon, he would 
_fee the folid body of the earth only in thofe places where the 
tranfparent fluids of our atmofphere would permit him. In 
others, the opaque vapours would reflect the light of the fun 
without permitting his view to penetrate to the furface of 
our globe. He would probably alfo find that our planet had 
occafionally fome fhining fluids in its atmofphere; as, not 
unlikely, fome of our northern lights might not efcape his 
notice, if they happened in the unenlightened part of the 
earth, and were feen by him in his long dark night. Nay, 
we have pretty good reafon to believe, that probably all the 
planets emit light in fome degree ; for the illumination which 
femains on the moon in a total eclipfe cannot be entirely 
afcribed to the light which may reach it by the refraCtion of 
the earth’s atmofphere. For inftance, in the eclipfe of the 
moon Oétober 22, 1790, the rays of the fun refracted by the 
atmofphere of the earth towards the moon, admitting the 
mean horizontal refraction to be 30 50’7,8, would meet in a 
focus 189 thoufand miles beyond the moon; fo that confe- 
quently there could be no illumination from rays refracted 
by our atmofphere. It is, however, not improbable, that — 
about the polar regions of the earth there may be refraétion 
enough to bring fome of the folar rays to a fhorter focus. 
The difiance of the moon at the time of the eclipfe would 
require a refraction of 54’ 6”, equal to its horizontal parallax 
at 
