Monfieur Hugens (who is very exa<3: in is 

 Aftronomical Obfervations) tells us, he could ne- 

 ver difcover any vifible Magnitude in the fix'd 

 Stars,, though he ufed Glaffes. which magnified 

 the apparent Diameter above rco times. 



Now, fines in all likelyhood the fix'd Stars are 

 Suns, (perhaps ofa different Magnitude) we may 

 as a reafbnable Medium prefume they are gene- 

 rally about the bignefs of the Sun. 



Let us then (for Example) fuppofe the Dog- 

 Star to be fo. The Diftance from us to the Sun 

 being about 100 times the Sun's Diameter, (as is 

 demonftrable from the Sun's Diameter being %z 

 Minutes) it is evident, that the Angle under 

 which the Dog-Star is (een in Mr. HugenshTdc- 

 fcope, muft be near the fame with the Angle of 

 its Parallax to the Sun's Diftance, or Semi-dia- 

 meter of the Earth's Annual Courfe; fo that 

 the Parallax to the whole Diameter, can be but 

 double fuch a quantity, as even to Mr. Hugens's 

 nice Obfervation is altogether infenfible. 



The Diftance therefore of the fix'd Stars feems 

 hardly within the reach of any of our Methods 

 to determine ; but from what has been laid down, 

 we may draw fome Conclufions that will much 

 illuftrate the prodigious vaftnete of it. 



i. That the Diameter of the Earth's Annual 

 Orb (which contains at leaft 160 Millions of 

 Miles) is but as a Poinc in comparifbn of it; at 

 leaft it muft be above 6000 times the Diftance 

 of the Sun : For if a Star ftiould appear thro' 

 the aforefeid Telefcope half a Minute broad 

 (which is a pretty ienfible Magnitude,) the true 

 apparent Diameter would not exceed 18 3d Mi- 

 nutes, which is lefs than the 6000th part of the 

 apparent Diameter of the Sun, and confequently 



