3IO The American Geologist. November, 1904. 
THE UNTENABLENESS OF THE NEBULAR 
THEORY. 
11. 
By N. MiSTOCKlKS. Minneapolis, Minn. 
THE RECIPROCAL INELUEXCE OF THE HEAVENLY BODIES 
AND THE INCLINATION OF THE PLANETS' ORBITS TO THE 
ECLIPTIC. 
§9. We have alread}- mentioned, in an article in the last 
issue of the American Geologist, that it was the relative posi- ' 
tions which the Snn, the planets and the moons occupy to- 
wards one another, that in the opinion of Laplace seemed to 
point to such an origin of these hodies as is presented in the 
nebular theory. It is proper, therefore, that we now trv to 
ascribe this state of things to other causes. 
Since it is the attraction of the Sun which causes the 
planets tO' revolve in their orbits around the Sun, and like- 
wise the attraction of the planets which causes the moons to 
revolve around the planets, it is plain, also, that it is the 
same influence whicli determines, at least in the main part, 
the relations of the planetary orbits to one another and to 
the vSun, and also the relation of the orbits of the moons to 
one another and to the planets. 
The question, then, is simply this: In what manner have 
these relations been established. 
We cannot speak of gravity as the motive force which 
causes the motions of the planets and by virtue of which 
the velocity of the Earth, for example, is 72 times that of 
a cannon ball without at the same time supposing that there 
must be a constant tendency, especially between the larger 
planets — Jupiter and Saturn — and the Sun, to draw the 
inner planets, at the time of conjunctions, in a straight line 
toward the Sun. This cannot be denied, since attraction acts 
reciprocally. The case is similar to the one when we as boys 
used tO' pull tug of war, which was a reciprocal attraction, 
and the result of which was a straight line. This point may 
be better illustrated, however, by sui)posing a steamship of 
about 10,000 tons carrying capacity, or somewhat larger, as 
