A GLANCE AT THE STARS. 143 



singly and in groups, and probably an extensive nebula, contact with which causes the 

 phenomena of shooting stars, aerolites, and meteoric showers. But admitting the exis- 

 tence of such bodies to be placed beyond all doubt, the question of their origin, whether 

 original accumulations of matter, old as the planetary orbs, or the dispersed trains of 

 comets, or the remains of a ruined world, is a point beyond the power of the human under- 

 standing to reach. 



CHAPTER VII. 



A GLANCE AT THE STARS. 



E have been chiefly occupied hitherto with those celestial bodies, 

 which from their conspicuous appearance or changes of position, 

 and some of them from their obvious connexion with the con- 

 venience and existence of the human race, have in all ages been 

 objects of special attention. Most of these bodies are situated 

 within the limits of the zodiac, an imaginary zone or girdle 

 extending round the heavens, of about sixteen degrees in 

 breadth. It includes the sun and moon, and also all the planets, 

 with the exception of the asteroids. But in the zodiac, and 

 throughout the whole celestial concave, we see scattered every 

 where a number of radiant points of varying brightness, 

 which appear to have always the same position with regard to 

 each other. This has originated the title of the fixed stars, by which they are po- 

 pularly known. The term, in an absolute sense, is inaccurate ; for recent observations 

 have detected changes in the mutual relations of many of these bodies, and it is pro- 

 bable that all of them are subject to translation. Owing to their vast distance, their 

 motions appear exceedingly slow to us, requiring the finest instruments to be per- 

 ceptible ; and hence they have a character of permanence in contrast with the planets, 

 and the term " fixed" becomes comparatively applicable. The apparent immobility of these 

 objects renders them of immense use in geography, navigation, and planetary astronomy; 

 and hence the observation of the sidereal host, and the formation of accurate catalogues 

 of its members, are among the most important of the labours of science. Sir J. Herschel, 

 in magnificent language, before the Astronomical Society, thus referred to the catalogue 

 of Piazzi, published in 1805, containing the places of no less than 7646 stars: "For 

 what has a Piazzi worn out his venerable age in watching ? The answer is, not to settle 

 mere speculative points in the doctrine of the universe ; not to cater for the pride of man, 

 by refined enquiries into the remoter mysteries of nature, to trace the path of our 

 system through infinite space, or its history through past and future eternities. These, 

 indeed, are noble ends; the mind swells in their contemplation, and attains in their 

 pursuit an expansion and hardihood which fit it for the boldest enterprise. But the 

 direct practical utility of such labours is fully worthy of their speculative grandeur. The 

 stars are the landmarks of the universe ; and, amidst the endless and complicated fluc- 

 tuations of our system, seem placed by its Creator as guides and records, not merely to 

 elevate our minds by the contemplation of what is vast, but to teach us to direct our 

 actions by reference to what is immutable, in His works. It is indeed hardly possible to 

 over-appreciate their value in this point of view. Every well-determined star, from the 



