the Conftruciion of ihe Heavens. AAS 
_ ‘From appearances then, as I obferved’before, we may infer, 
that the fun is moft likely placed in one of the great ftrata of 
the fixed ftars, and very probably not far from the place where 
fome fmaller ftratum branches out from it. Such a fuppofition 
will fatisfactorily, and with great fimplicity, account for all 
the phenomena of the milky way, which, according to this 
hypothefis, is no other than the appearance of the projection of 
the ftars contained in this ftratum and its fecondary branch. 
As a farther inducement to look on the Galaxy in this point of 
view, let it be confidered, that we can no longer doubt of its 
whitifh appearance arifing from the mixed luftre of the num- 
berlefs ftars that compofe it. Now, fhould we imagine it to 
be an irregular ring of ftars, in the center nearly of which we 
muft then fuppofe the fun to be placed, it will appear not a 
little extraordinary, that the fun, being a fixed ftar like thofe 
which compofe this imagined ring, fhould juft be in the center 
of fuch a multitude of celeftial bodies, without any apparent 
reafon for this fingular diftinétion ; whereas, on our fuppofi- 
tion, every ftar in this ftratum, not very near the termination 
of its length or height, will be fo placed as alfo to have its 
own Galaxy, with only fuch variations in the form and luftre 
of it, as may arife from the particular fituation of each ftar. 
Various methods may be purfued to come to a full know- 
ledge of the fun’s place in the fidereal ftratum, of which I 
fhall only mention one as the moft general and moft proper for 
determining this important point, and which I have already 
begun to put in practice. I call it Gaging the Heavens, or the 
Star-Gage. It confifts in repeatedly taking the number of ffars 
in ten fields of view of my refletor very near each other, and 
by adding their fums, and cutting off one decimal on the right, 
a mean of the contents of the heavens, in all the parts which 
Mom m 2 are 
