CABINET OF NATURE. IMMENSE QUANTITY OF MATTER IN THE UNIVERSE; Or, Illustrations of the Omnipotence of the Deity. (Continued from page 43.) If we extend our views from the solar system to the starry heavens, we have to penetrate, in our imagination, a space which the swiftest ball that was ever projected, though in perpetual motion, would not traverse in ten hundred thousand years. In those trackless regions of immensity, we behold an assemblage of resplendent globes, similar to the sun in size, and in glory, and doubtless, accompanied with a retinue of worlds, revolving like our own around their attractive influence. The immense distance at which the nearest stars are known to be placed, proves, that they are bodies of a prodigious size, not inferior to our own sun, and that they shine, not by reflected rays, but by their own native light. But bodies encircled with such refulgent splendor, would be of little use in the economy of Jehovah's empire, unless surrounding worlds were cheered by their benign influence, and enlightened by their beams, Every star is, therefore, with good reason, concluded to be a sun, no less spacious than ours, surrounded by a host of planetary globes, which revolve around it as a centre, and derive from it light, and heat, and comfort. Nearly a thousand of these luminaries may be seen in a clear winter night, by the naked eye; so that a mass of matter equal to a thousand solar systems, or to thirteen hundred and twenty millions of globes of the size of the earth, may be perceived by every common observer, in the canopy of heaven. But all the celestial orbs which are perceived by the unassisted sight, do not form the eighty thousandth part of those which may be descried by the help of optical instruments. The telescope has enabled us to descry, in certain spaces of the heavens, thousands of stars where the naked eye could scarcely discern twenty. The late celebrated astronomer, Dr. Herschel, has informed us, that, in the most crowded parts of the Milky-way, when exploring that region with his best glasses, he has had fields of view which contained no less than 588 stars, and these were continued for many minutes; so that "in one quarter of an hour's time there passed no less than one hundred and sixteen thousand stars through the field of view of his telescope." It has been computed, that nearly one hundred millions of stars might be perceived by the most perfect instruments, were all the regions of the sky thoroughly explored: And yet, all this vast assemblage of suns and worlds, when compared with what lies beyond the utmost boundaries of human vision, in the immeasurable spaces of creation, may be no more than as the smallest particle of vapor to the immense ocean. Immeasurable regions of space lie beyond the utmost limits of mortal view, into which even imagination itself can scarcely penetrate, and which are, doubtless, replenished with the operations of Divine Wisdom and Omnipotence. For it cannot be supposed that a being so diminutive as man, whose stature scarcely exceeds six feet-who vanishes from the sight at the distance of a league-whose whole habitation is invisible from the nearest star-whose powers of vision are so imperfect, and whose mental faculties are so limited-it cannot be supposed that man, who "dwells in tabernacles of clay, who is crushed before the moth," and chained down, by the force of gravitation to the surface of a small planet,-should be able to descry the utmost boundaries of the empire of Him who fills immensity, and dwells in "light unapproachable." That portion of his dominions, however, which lies within the range of our view, present such a scene of magnificence and grandeur, as must fill the mind of every reflecting person with astonishment and reverence, and constrain him to exclaim, "Great is our Lord, and of great power, his understanding is infinite." "When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast ordained,— what is man that thou art mindful of him!" "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear;" I have listened to subtle disquisitions on thy character and perfections, and have been but little affected, "but now mine eye seeth thee; wherefore I humble myself, and repent in dust and ashes.' CIRCLE OF THE SCIENCES, WITH SUITABLE REFLECTIONS. ASTRONOMICAL SKETCHES.-NO. XIII. The next planet to Jupiter is Saturn; whose diameter is 79,405 miles. This distant planet is 995 times greater than our Earth. His sidereal revolution is completed in 10,758 days, 23 hours, 16 minutes, 34 seconds; or, in 29 years, 167 days. He is at the astonishing distance of 911,141,000,000 miles from the Sun, and 816,000,000 miles from the Earth, at the least. The rate at which this planet moves, is 22,300 miles an hour: and his daily rotation is performed in 10 hours, 16 minutes, 19 seconds of our time. His year contains 25,000 days, of 10 hours, 16 minutes a day. The appearance of Saturn to the naked eye is not so brilliant as either that of Venus, or Jupiter; but it is more so than that of Mars. The distance of this planet from the Sun is so very great, that it is supposed to receive only one ninetieth part of the light and heat that are received by the earth. Great as this diminution of light may appear at first sight, it is, however, above one thousand times greater than that which the Earth receives from the full Moon. But we are not to conclude that light and heat absolutely depend upon the distances of the planets from the Sun. Light and heat are much more connected with the rarity or density of the atmosphere of the planets, and the quantity of caloric which is contained in the atmosphere, and in the solid body of any planet. The days and nights in Saturn must undergo a considerable variation in summer and winter, somewhat similar to the variations in the seasons of our Earth and of Mars. The motion of Saturn is retrograde during the space of 136 days; and he remains stationary during about 8 days. Saturn has in attendance seven Moons, which afford the inhabitants a most beautiful and interesting sight from night to night, and from year to year. Who can form an idea of the sublime sight of these seven beauti ful satellites, moving round the planet at different distances; some in a few days; others, in the course of as many months! These Moons are at so great a distance from us, that they are invisible to the naked eye: nor are they to be seen through a powerful telescope, unless the air is very clear. Besides these seven Moons, Saturn has a beautiful double ring, surrounding him at some distance, like the horizon of an artificial globe. This appendage to Saturn is one of the most astonishing and curious phenomena in the heavens. Although this double ring of Saturn, when viewed through a telescope of moderate powers, appears to be one solid plane, yet Dr. Herschel, and other astronomers, using telescopes with high magnifying powers, have discovered it to be divided into two parts, forming two concentric rings, making the space between the inner and outer ring no less than 2,839 miles. These rings are admirably calculated to receive and reflect the light of the sun upon the planet; and in all probability this is their design. Owing to the oblique position in which we see the ring, it always appears to us in an oval form, even when its situation is the most favorable for observation. The appearance of this ring varies according to the changes that take place in our situation with respect to its plane. When the eye is exactly in the plane of the ring, it is scarcely perceptible; but after a while it begins to appear; and daily becomes more and more apparent, till it has reached its most favorable position for observation; or, till the angle it makes with the ecliptic is as great as possible. This alternate appearance and disappearance of Saturn's ring happens every fifteen years. The year 1826 was very favourable for seeing the ring; and this has also been the case for the last two or three years. The dimensions of the larger ring, according to Herschel, are as follows: Outer diameter Inner diameter Breadth Miles. 204,883 190,248 19,024 Those of the smaller. or outer ring, are as follows: Outer diameter Inner diameter Miles. 184,393 146,345 7,931 Breadth It is remarked, that Saturn, like all the other planets, is an oblate spheroid: whose equatorial is to that of his polar diameter in the proportion of eleven to ten. PHILLIP GARRETT. SKETCHES OF AMERICAN CHARACTER. Written for the Monthly Repository and Library of Entertaining Knowledge |