The Evolution of the Sciences 



body, as in our solar system, but may be a 

 geometrical point, a theoretical centre of the 

 attraction, as occurs in the case of systems of 

 double or multiple stars, none of which is pre- 

 dominant. Now the system of the Milky Way 

 appears to present the geometrical regularity 

 of a system, subject to a single law of attraction, 

 and one may inquire in what part of the heavens 

 is to be found this "central sun," as Madler 

 calls it, which controls the movements of all 

 the other suns. It must evidently be sought 

 in the region where the stars move with the 

 lowest velocity, as their motion must increase 

 with their distance from the centre of attraction. 

 Now this occurs in the group of the Pleiades, 

 which are situated in our northern hemisphere 

 and belong to the constellation of Taurus. 

 The Pleiades form one of the most beautiful 

 clusters of stars in the sky; six of them are 

 visible to the naked eye, but photography or 

 the telescope reveal over two thousand gathered 

 in a very restricted space of sky. The 

 motion of Alcyone, the most beautiful of these 

 stars, is almost nil, and for this reason Madler 



considers Alcyone to be the central sun of 



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