gen than in June. Also, we know that the weather is erally warmer at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, when the Sun has gone towards the west, than at noon, when he is on the meridian. Likewise those places which are well cooled, require time to be heated again, for the Sun's rays do not heat even the surface of any body till they have been sometime upon it, and therefore January is generally colder than December; although the Sun has withdrawn from the winter tropic, and begins to dart his beams more perpendicularly upon us. It was formerly the opinion of Philosophers, that the Sun was an immense mass of flame, and consequently the nearer we approached, the greater must be the heat. It is stated that the heat of the planet Mercury is seven times as great as ours, judging from his nearness to the Sun,and likewise that the cold at the planets Jupiter, Saturn and Herschel, must be extreme, because they are placed at so great a distance from that luminary. It is well known, that near the equator, the tops of the highest mountains are covered with perpetual snow, and that in a less distance than three miles above the surface of the earth, we come to the region of perpetual congelation, where neither ice nor snow would ever melt, although nearer the Sun than in the plane below. Therefore, the distance from the Sun is not the real cause of heat or cold. Dark spots have been seen upon the Sun's disk, from which it is generally concluded that the body of the Sun is dark and Photospere opaque, surrounded by a luminous atmosphere, which darts its rays with immense velocity, and by some chemical operation, performed in their passage through the atmosphere with which this earth is encircled, convey to us the sensation of heat. The solar observations of Dr. Wilson, first suggested the opinion, that the Sun was an opaque and solid body, surrounded with a luminous atmosphere, and the telescopes of Dr, Herschel have tended still farther to establish this opinion. The latter of these astronomers, therefore imagined, that the functions of the Sun, as the source of light might be performed by the agency of the external atmosphere, while the solar nucleus was reserved, and fitted for the reception of inhabitants. That the Sun may at the same time be the source of light and heat, and yet capable of supporting animal life is one of those conclusions, which we are fond of admitting without hesitation, and to cherish with peculiar complacency. The mind is filled with admiration of the wisdom of that Benign Benefactor, and swells with the most sublime emotions, when it conceives, that apparently the most inaccessible regions of creation are peopled with animated beings, and, that while the Sun is the fountain of the most destructive of all the elements, it is at the same time the abode of life and plenty. When the invention of the telescope enabled Astronomers to detect the striking resemblances between the different planets of the system, it was natural to conclude, that, as they were composed of similar materials, as they H revolved around the same centre, and were enlightened by similar Moons, they were all intended by their wise Creator to be the region in which he chose to dispense the blessings of existence and intelligence to various orders of animated beings. The human mind cheerfully embraced this sublime view of creation, and guided by the principle, that nothing was made in vain ; man extended his views to the remote corners of space, and perceived in every star that sparkles in the sky, the centre of a magnificent system of bodies, teeming with life and happiness, and displaying fresh instances of the power and beneficence of that Being who rolled such stupenduous orbs from his creating hand. Having thus traversed the illimitable regions of space, and considering every world which rolls in the immense void as the scene on which the Almighty has exhibited his perfections, the mind, unable to command a wider range, rests in satisfaction on the faithful analogies which it has pursued. Interrogations for Section Fourth. How much of the Heavens does a spectator see placed at the north pole of the earth? What part if placed at the south pole? What part if seen at the equator? When placed at the north pole, how far south in the Heavens would his vision extend? If at the south pole, how far north would his vision extend? Does any part of the ecliptic, or orbit, which the Sun seems to describe once a year, appear above the horizon of the north pole? What signs of the ecliptic appear above the horizon of the north pole? Ans.--Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo and Virgo; these are called northern signs. What signs appear above the horizon of the south pole? Ans.-Libra, Scorpio, Sagitarius, Capricornus, Aquarius, and Pisces. These are called southern signs. When the Sun is in any of the northern signs, does he ever set at the north pole, or rise at the south? When in the southern signs, does he ever set to the south pole, or rise to the north? Is it the same with the Moon ? What is the length of the longest days at either of the poles ? What the length of the longest nights? In what month of the year is the Sun on the tropic of Cancer, or highest point of his orbit? In what months on the tropic of Capricorn? In what months on the equator? When the Sun is in the equator, can he be seen at both poles? Is the Sun's apparent motion round the earth in circles ? Are the whole Heavens visible every 24 hours at the equator? What is the form of the earth's orbit? How many miles is the earth nearer the Sun at one time of the year than at another? In what month in the year is it the nearest? In what month farthest off? How many days is the Sun longer in the northern hemisphere, than in the southern in every year? Why is it longer north of the equator than south? Why have we not the warmest weather when nearest the Sun ? What was the opinion of former Philosophers concerning the Sun ? What the opinion of Dr. Herschel ? How far above the surface of the earth at the equator, is the region of perpetual congelation ? What is the prevailing opinion concerning the rays of the Sun producing heat ? Is the body of the Sun supposed to be inhabited? |
