Conft ruction of the Heavens. 245 
view of my telefeope (<?). Now, if we compute the length of 
the vifual ray by putting 8 = 588, and the diameter of the 
field of view fifteen minutes, we fhall find n — \/B 2 S = 498 ; fo 
that it appears the length of what 1 have called my founding line, 
or n — 1, was probably not lefs than 497 times the difbmce of 
Sirius from the fun. The fame gage calculated by the fecond 
arrangement of ftars gives s/tf— 1 = 1.4 1421 ; = 
2 v / ^ 2 — ! 
tangent of 31 0 28' 55", 77 ; =B= 280,69 ; ~ d - 
B 2 S 
,81649; — = 23163409,7 — n 5 -f | « 2 + | n ; where «= 284,8 
nearly; and zdn- 1 =464, the vifual ray. 
It may feem inaccurate that we fhould found an argument on 
the ftars being equally fcattered, when in all probability there 
may not be two of them in the heavens, whofe mutual diflance 
fhall be equal to that of any other two given Bars ; but it fhould 
be confidered, that when we take all the ftars colle&ively there 
will be a mean diftance which may be aflumed as the general 
one ; and an argument founded on fuch a fuppofition will have 
in its favour the greateft probability of not being far fhort of 
truth. What will render the fuppofition of an equal diftribu- 
tion of the ft ars, with regard to the gages, ftill lefs expofed to 
objections is, that whenever the ftars happened either to be 
uncommonly crowded or deficient in number, fo as very fiud- 
( e ) The breadth of my fweep was 2° 26', to which muft be added 15' for two 
femi-diameters of the field. Then, putting 161 ~a, the number of fields in 
j 5 minutes of time ; ,7854 ~ 3 , the proportion of a circle to I, its circumfcribed 
fquare ; <p ~ fine of 74° 22', the polar diftance of the middle of the fweep reduced 
to the prefent time ; and 588 = 8, the number of ftars in a field of view, we.hav.e 
a<p S , , 
-—- = 116076 ftarso 
denly 
