COMING ASTRONOMICAL EVENTS. 71 



The joint attraction of the whole solar system, acting on the Earth is to draw 

 P. to SN., which has been shown under the head of declinations to be inappre- 

 ciable. The combined power of the Moon, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and 

 Neptune, will aid the Sun in its attempt to draw the Earth nearer to its mighty 

 mass. But these same planets at the same time, tend to accelerate the orbital 

 velocity of the Earth. Hence our world will not be affected at all. It can 

 neither fall nearer the Sun, nor move faster. The astrologers make no account 

 of inertia, inherent in the Earth and all matter. The planets help the Sun attract 

 the Earth, and help the Earth to resist it in equal proportions. Increased velocity 

 enables inertia to re-assert its powers, and appear as a force called the centri- 

 fugal. Since the same bodies that cause the attraction also cause the opposing 

 force, both must be equal, and we shall continue our flight through space as 

 though nothing had happened. 



The student of physics, gravity, motion and geometry, knows that any 

 number of forces are capable of resolution in the direction of diagonals, of par- 

 allelograms, rectangles, parallelopipedons and similar geometrical figures. He 

 can take the cut and draw up a series of such figures by the rules of resolution 

 and composition of forces, in relation to the Sun, the Earth and any planet, and 

 in doing so will find that all the planets aid the Sun by increasing its attraction 

 on the Earth. This is as it should be, because the Sun is the center of gravity of 

 the system. Now draw similar figures relative to the Earth, and its motion in 

 relation to the Sun, and the diagonals of the whole series of drawings will be in 

 equivalent ratio ; hence, the Earth will not be disturbed on tTiat awful day. 



Uranus and Mercury serve to retard the Earth, thereby enabling the Sun to 

 attract with greater effect. Therefore their action may be called the residual of 

 force remaining in the entire solar system that is at liberty to effect the Earth. 

 As the forces of all the planets west of the Solstitial Colure, and therefore west 

 and north of the Earth, are neutralized^ the feeble attraction of Uranus and 

 Mercury alone remains to cause wars and plagues. And the perturbation of the 

 Earth from the action of these planets will be so slight as almost incapable of 

 detection by accurate astronomical instruments. Really the Earth is not in such 

 a dangerous position as it was on Oct. 7th, 1880, when Jupiter was in opposition. 

 October 7th was a fine day. The Earth in June will be near its aphelion; and 

 acceleration would not bring calamity ; even if in perihelion, it should suffer 

 increase of velocity, we should be in no danger. Equal areas are described by 

 the radius vector in equal times; the laws of nature are invariable, and all per- 

 turbations are corrected. If all the planets in the system were on a straight 

 line with the Sun and opposed to the Earth; or, if they were all placed on the 

 Sun, the attraction of the solar mass would be increased by less than the y^ part. 

 The mass of the Sun is 745 times greater than the combined masses of all the 

 planets and satellites. Take a stone weighing 746 pounds, break off one pound 

 and the ratio will be that of the Sun and planets. Any force whatever the 

 planets are able to lend the Sun as against the Earth, is less than y^-g-, because 



