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a quarter of a metre from the Earth will be the Moon, the 

 size of a mustard seed, 2| millimetres in diameter. Mars, 

 at a distance of 160 metres, will have about half the diame- 

 ter of the Earth ; and the smaller planets (Vesta, Hebe, As- 

 trea, Juno, Pallas, Ceres, &c.), at a distance of from 250 to 

 300 metres from the sun, will resemble particles of sand. 

 Jupiter and Saturn, 560 and 1000 metres distant from the cen- 

 tre, will be represented by oranges, 10 and 9 centimetres in 

 diameter. Uranus, of the size of a nut 4 centimetres across, 

 will be 2000 metres ; and Neptune, as large as an apple 6 

 centimetres in diameter, will be nearly twice as distant, or 

 about half a geographical mile away from the sun. From 

 Neptune to the nearest fixed star will be more than 2000 geo- 

 graphical miles. 



To complete this picture, it is necessary to imagine finely- 

 divided matter grouped in a diversified manner, moving slowly 

 and gradually towards the large central globe, and on its ar- 

 rival attaching itself thereto ; this matter, when favourably 

 illuminated by the sun, represents itself to us as the zodiacal 

 light. This nebulous substance forms also an important part 

 of a creation in which nothing is by chance, but wherein all 

 'is arranged with Divine foresight and wisdom. 



The surface of the sun measures 115,000 millions of 

 square miles, or 6 trillions of square metres ; the mass of 

 matter which in the shape of asteroids falls into the sun every 

 minute is from 94,000 to 188,000 billions of kilogrammes ; 

 one square metre of solar surface, therefore, receives on an 

 average from 15 to 30 grammes of matter per minute. 



To compare this process with a terrestrial phenomenon, a 

 gentle rain may be considered which sends down in one hour 

 a layer of water 1 millimetre in thickness (during a thunder- 

 storm the rainfall is often from ten to fifteen times this quan- 

 tity) ; this amounts on a square metre to 17 grammes per 

 minute. 



