ASTRONOMY. 



Confused a manner, and our not being able 

 to see them all at one view. The whole 

 number of stars visible to the naked eye is 

 about 3186. But seldom above one-third 

 of that number can be seen at one time. 

 From the earliest ages they have been di- 

 vided into groups, or constellations, which 

 have been called by the names of various 

 animals and objects, from a supposed re- 

 semblance to them ; such as the Great 

 Bear, the Little Bear, the Swan, &c. The 

 fixed stars are placed at a distance from us 

 so great, that it cannot be ascertained by 

 any means yet known : hence, they must 

 shine by their own light, and not by the 

 light which they receive from our sun, as 

 the planets do. Though it has been for- 

 merly mentioned that the relative situa- 

 tions of the fixed stars do not vary, yet in 

 the course of several ages some variations 

 "have been observed among them. Some 

 of the larger stars have not the same pre- 

 cise situations that ancient observations 

 attribute to them, and new stars have ap- 

 peared, while some others, which have 

 been described, are now no longer to be 

 found. Some stars are likewise found to 

 have a periodical increase and decrease. 

 Many of the fixed stars, upon examination 

 with the telescope, are found to consist 

 of two. Besides the phenomena already 

 mentioned, there are many nebulae, or 

 parts of the heavens, which are brighter 

 than the rest. The most remarkable of 

 these is a broad irregular zone or belt, 

 called the Milky-way There are others 

 much smaller, and some so small, that 



they can be seen only by telescopes. It 

 the telescope be directed to these ne- 

 bulas, they are resolvable into clusters of 

 stars, which appear as white clouds in in- 

 struments of less force. Dr. Herschel 

 has rendered it highly probable, both 

 from observation and well grounded con- 

 jecture, that the starry heavens is replete 

 with these nebulae or systems of stars, 

 and that the Milky-way is that particular 

 nebulae in which our sun is placed. Rea- 

 soning analogically from the circum- 

 stances with which we are acquainted, we 

 may deduce, that the universe consists of 

 nebulae or distinct systems of stars ; that 

 each nebula is composed of a prodigious 

 number of suns or bodies, that shine by 

 their own native splendour ; and that 

 each individual sun is destined to give 

 light to numbers of worlds that revolve 

 about it. What an august, what an amaz- 

 ing conception doesthis give of the works 

 of the Creator ? Instead of one world and 

 one sun, we find thousands and thousands 

 of suns ranged around us at immense 

 distances, all attended by innumerable 

 worlds, all in rapid motion, yet calm, re- 

 gular, and harmonious, invariably keeping 

 the paths prescribed them ; and these 

 worlds peopled with myriads of intelli- 

 gent beings, formed for endless pro res- 

 sion in perfection and felicity. We shall 

 now, in the form of a table, give the names 

 of the constellations, and the number of 

 stars observed in each by different astro- 



TFIE ANCIENT CONSTELLATIONS. 



