ON THE APTEARANCES OF THE CELESTIAL BODIES. 555 



on the surface of this vast globe they must aflord useful information, as well 

 with respect to time as to place. Our little earth must probably be always 

 invisible to a spectator situated on Jupiter, on account of its apparent proxi- 

 mity to the sun, in the same manner as a planet at half the distance of Mer- 

 cury would be invisible to us. The year of Jupiter must contain nearly ten 

 thousand of his days, and that of Saturn almost thirty thousand Saturnian 

 days. Besides the vicissitudes of the seven satellites revolving round Saturn, 

 his ring must aftbrd, in different parts of his surface, very diversified appear- 

 ances of magnificent luminous arches, stretched across the heavens, especi- 

 ally in that hemisphere which is on the same side of the ring with the sun. 



From the Georgian planet the sun must be seen but as a little star, not 

 one hundred and fiftieth part as bright as he appears to us. The axis of this 

 planet being probably near to the plane of its ecliptic, it must be directed 

 twice in the year towards the sun, and the limit of illumination must ap- 

 proach to the equator, so that almost every place on his surface must some- 

 times remain,for a great number of diurnal revolutions, in light and in dark- 

 ness; the most moderate climates having one night, in their long year, equal 

 in duration at least to several of our years: and it must be confessed that 

 this planet would afford but a comfortless habitation to those accustomed to 

 our summer sunshine, even if it were possible to colonise it. (Plate XXXIV. 

 rig. 501.) 



On the whole,'we are tempted, from an almost irresistible analogy, to con- 

 clude that the planets are all in some manner or other inhabited ; but at the 

 same time we can scarcely suppose that a single ecipses of terrestrial animals or 

 even vegetables could exist in any of them; their minerals may, perhaps, re- 

 semble ours, and if the stones which Mr. Howard has analysed are realiy lu- 

 nar productions, we ha/e proofs that the moon at least contains some sub- 

 stances resembling those which compose the eartli; but the seas and rivers of 

 the other planets must consist of some fluid unknown to us, since almost all 

 our liquids would either be frozen, or converted into vapour, in any of them. 



