5 o IN STARRY REALMS. 



the sun alone excepted, we may well pause before admit- 

 ting the truth of the somewhat startling fact that each 

 of these stars and planets, dim though they admittedly 

 are, must still be intrinsically larger and heavier than the 

 moon. 



No doubt the telescope discloses to us multitudes of 

 celestial objects many of which do not possess one ten- 

 thousandth part of the bulk of the moon. But those 

 objects are all so faint that good instruments are required 

 to make them discernible. As to the real dimensions of 

 the moon T may as well mention, once for all, the few facts 

 that will be important for us. The diameter of our satellite 

 is rather more than one-fourth the diameter of the earth. 

 To express it a little more precisely, we may say that the 

 moon's diameter is two thousand one hundred and sixty 

 miles, that is to say about as far as from London to 

 the Caspian Sea, or from the Straits of Gibraltar to the 

 Crimea. 



It is instructive to open a map of Europe and then draw 

 with a pair of compasses a circle representing the size of 

 the moon on the same scale as that of the map. This 

 circle will enable the dimensions of our satellite to be 

 properly appreciated. The British Islands are of compara- 

 tively insignificant extent if placed in the centre of the 

 figure. 



In the figure on the opposite page we have indicated 

 the circle so as to include the larger part of Europe. 

 From the Ural Mountains the circumference passes north 

 into Sweden and Norway, then traversing the North Sea 

 it just touches the eastern parts of England. There it 

 crosses the Channel, and after passing through the centre 



