THE EARTH. O 



impelled forward by tbe divine Architect, upon its first forma- 

 tion. The heavenly bodies of our system being thus acted upon 

 by two opposing powers ; namely, by that of attraction, which 

 draws them towards the sun ; and that of impulsion, which drives 

 them straight forward into the great void of space ; they pursue 

 a track between these contrary directions ; and each, like a stone 

 whirled about in a sling, obeying two opposite forces, circulates 

 round its great centre of heat and motion. 



In this manner, therefore, is the harmony of our planetary 

 system preserved The sun, in the midst, gives heat, and light, 

 and circular motion, to the planets which surround it ; Mercury, 

 Venus, the Earth, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn,* perform their 



* Since Goldsmith's time, five other planetary bodies, (Uranus, Ceres, Pal- 

 las, Juno, Vesta,) belonging to our solar system, have been discovered. On 

 the 13th of March, 1781, Ur Herscliel discovered a new planet without the 

 orbi^ of Saturn, which was first named by foreign astronomers, after 

 its observer, the Herschel, but called by Heiscltel himself (in honour 

 of George III.) the Georgium Sidus — although both these names are fast 

 nking, and Uranm is the appellation now almost universally adopted. 

 The Uranus is the most remote of our planets, so far as discovered, 

 ■ irculating about the sun at the astonishing distance of 1800 million miles, 

 and performing its orbicular revolution in about SO of our years. Its 

 diameter is 35,112 miles. It has six secondary planets or moons. The 

 other four planets are small. Ceres was discovered situated between 

 the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, on the 1st of January, ISOl, by M. Piazzi, 

 a Sicilian astronomer. It performs its revolution round the sun in about 

 four years. Pallas was discovered also situated between the orbits of 

 Mars and Jupiter, on the 28th March, 1802, by Dr Olbers of Bremen. 

 Juno was discovered by Mr Harding, at the observatory of Lilienthal, near 

 Bremen, on the 1st day of September, ISOi. It is likewise situated between 

 file orbits of Mars and Jupiter ; and performs its revolution round the sun 

 in 5 years and 182 days. Vesta was discovered by Dr Olbers, on the 29th of 

 March, 1807. It is also situated between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter; 

 and performs its revolution round the sun in 3 years and 182 days. — The 

 diameters of these planets (which must, I'.owever, be considered as doubtful) 

 have been given a follows : — Ceres, 102i miles ; Pallas, 2099 miles ; Juno, 

 1426 miles; Vesta, 233 miles. It was supposed by some astronomers that a 

 planet existed between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars. The discovery of 

 Ceres confirmed this conjecture ; but tlie opinion v^iiich it seemed to establish 

 respecting the harmony of the solar system, appeared to be completely over- 

 turned by the discovery of Pallas and Juno. Dr Olbers, however, considers 

 that these small celestial bodies are merely the fragments of a larger planet, 

 which had been burst asunder by some internal convulsion, and that several 

 more might yet be discovered between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. 

 Some writers suppose the meteoritic stones which fall upon our earth to be 

 smail portions of this dissevered planet. In Brewster's Encyclopaedia a theory 

 is Started respecting the origin of Ceres and Pallas, wluch is plausible and 



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