astronomy. 
gee them all at one view. The whole num- 
ber of stars visible to the naked eye is about 
3186. But seldom above one-third of that 
number can be seen at one time. From 
the earliest ages they have been divided 
into groups, or constellations, which have 
been called by the names of various ani- 
mals and objects, from a supposed resem- 
blance to them; such as the Great Bear, the 
Little Bear, the Swan, &c. The fixed stars 
are placed at a distance from us so great, 
that it cannot be ascertained by any means 
yet known : hence, they must shine by 
their own light, and not by the light which 
they receive from our sun, as the planets 
do. Though it has been formerly mentioned 
that the relative situations of the fixed stars 
do not vary, yet in the course of several 
ages, some variations have been observed 
among them. Some of the larger stars have 
not the same precise situations that ancient 
observations attribute to them, and new 
stars have appeared, while some others 
which have been described, are now no 
longer to be found. Some stars are like- 
wise found to have a periodical increase 
and decrease. Many of the fixed stars, 
upon examination with the telescope, are 
found to consist of two. Besides the phe- 
nomena already mentioned, there are many 
nebula;, or parts of the heavens, which are 
brighter than the rest. The most remark- 
able of these is a broad irregular zone or 
belt, called the Milky-way. There are 
others much smaller, and some so small, 
that they can be seen only by telescopes. It 
the telescope be directed to these nebula?, 
they are resolvable into clusters of stars, 
which appear as white clouds in instru- 
ments of less force. Dr. Herscbell has 
rendered it highly probable, both from ob- 
servation and well-grounded conjecture, 
that the starry heavens is replete with these 
nebulae or systems of stars, and that the 
Milky-way is that particular nebula in 
which our sun is placed. Reasoning ana- 
logically from the circumstances with which 
we are acquainted, we may deduce, that the 
universe consists of nebulae or distinct sys- 
tems of stars : that each nebula is com- 
posed of a prodigious number of suns or bo- 
dies that shine by their own native splen- 
dour ; and that each individual sun is des- 
tined to give light to numbers of worlds that 
revolve about it. What an august, what an 
amazing conception does this give of the 
works of the Creator ! Instead of one world 
and one sun, we find thousands and thou- 
sands of suns, ranged around us at immense 
distances, all attended by innumerable 
worlds, all in rapid motion, yet calm, regular, 
and harmonious, invariably keeping the 
paths prescribed them ; and these worlds 
peopled with myriads of intelligent beings, 
formed for endless progression in perfection 
and felicity. We shall now, in the form of a 
table, give the names of the constellations, 
and the number of stars observed in each 
by different astronomers. 
THE ANCIENT CONSTELLATIONS. 
Ursa Minor The Little Bear . 
Ursa Major The Great Bear 
Draco Tl!e Dragon 
Cepheus Cepheus 
Bootes, Aratophilax • 
Corona Borealis The Northern Crown... . 
Hercules, Engonusin Hercules kneeling 
Lyra The Harp 
Cygnus, Gallina The Swan. 
Cassiopeia The Lady in her chair.. . 
Perseus Perseus 
Auriga The Waggoner 14 
Serpentarras, Ophiuchus . Serpentarius. 
Serpens The Serpent. 
Sagitta 'Die Arrow. . 
Aquila, Vultur .The Eagle . . 
Antinous Antinous .... 
Delphinus The Dolphin 
Equulus, Equisectio The Horse’s Head. 
Pegasus, Equus The Flying Horse. , 
Andromeda Andromeda 
Triangulum The Triangle 
Aries The Ram... '. 
!•••• 
Ptolemy. 
Tycho. 
Hevelius. 
Flamsteed 
8 
7 
12 
24 
$5 
29 
75 
87 
31 
32 
40 
80 
13 
4 
51 
35 
23 
18 
52 
54 
8 
8 
8 
21 
29 
28 
45 
113 
10 
11 
17 
21 
10 
18 
47 
81 
13 
26 
37 
55 
29 
29 
46 
59 
14 
9 
40 
66 
29 
15 
40 
74 
18 
13 
22 
64 
5 
5 
5 
18 
15 
12 
3 
23 
19 
71 
10 
10 
14 
18 
4 
4 
6 
10 
20 
19 
38 
89 
23 
23 
47 
66 
4 
4 
12 
16 
18 
21 
27 
66 
