of new Nebula and Clujlers of Stars , 2 1 5 
to end in a luminous center, of a refolvable blaze of light. To 
folve this appearance, it may be conjedtured, that ftars of any 
given, very unequal magnitudes, may eafily be fo arranged, in 
fcattered, much extended, irregular rows, as to produce the 
above defcribed pidture ; or, that ftars, fcattered about almoft 
promifcuoufly within the fruftum of a given cone, may be 
affigned of fuch properly diverfified magnitudes as alfo to form 
the fame pidture. But who, 'that is acquainted with the doc- 
trine of chances, can ferioufly maintain fuch improbable con- 
jedlures ? To confider this only in a very coarfe way, let us 
fuppofe a clufter to confift of 5000 ftars, and that each of 
them may be put into one of 5000 given places, and have one 
of 5000 afligned magnitudes. Then, without extending our 
^calculation any further, we have five and twenty millions of 
chances, out of which only one will anfwer the above impro- 
bable conjedture, while all the reft are againft it. When we 
now remark that this relates only to the given places within 
"the fruftum of a fuppofed cone, whereas thefe ftars might 
have been fcattered all over the vifible fpace of the heavens; 
that they might have been fcattered, even within the fuppofed 
cone, in a million of places different from the affirmed ones, 
the chance of this apparent clufter s not being a real one, will 
be rendered fo highly improbable that k ought to be intirely 
rejedled. 
Mr, Michell computes, with refpedt to the fix brighteft ftars 
of the Pleiades only, that the odds are near 500000 to 1 that 
mo fix ftars, out of the number of thofe which are equal in 
fplendour to the fainteft of them, fcattered at random in the 
whole heavens, would be within fo fmall a diftance from each 
other as* the Pleiades are 
* 'Phil, Tranf. vol. LVII, p. 246; 
K k % 
Tak- 
