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Show 14 THE DODil!S OF SPACE. 'fhe nebular hypothesis, as it has been called, obtains a rP.markable support in ·what would at first seem to mili- . tate against it-the existence in our firmament of several thousands of solar systems, in which there are more than one sun. These are called double and triple stars. Some double stars, upon which careful observations have been made, are found to have a regular revolutionary motion round each other in elipses. This kind of solar system has also been obserred in what appears to be its rudimental state, for there are examples of nebulous stars containing two and three nuclei in near association. At a certain point in the confluence of the matter of these nebulous stars. they would all become involved in a common revolutionary motion, linked inextricably with each other, though it might be at sufficient distances to allow of each distinct centre having afterwards its attendant planets. lVe have seen that the law which causes rotation in the single solar masses, is exactly the same which produces the familiar phenomenon of a small V\'hirlpool or dimple in the surface of a stream. Such dirnplcs arc not always single. Upon the face of a river where there are various contending currents, it may often be observed that two or more dimples are formed ncar each other with more or less rep:ularity. These fantastic eddies, which the musing poet will sometimes watch abstractedly for an hour.little thinking of the law which produces and conects them, are an illustration of the wonders of binary and ternary solar systems. The nebular hypothesis is, indeed, supported by so many ascertained features of the celestial scenery, and so many calculations of exact science, that it is impossible for a candid mind to reti·ain from giving it a cordial reception, if not to repose full reliance upon it, even with-time, of which it commonly forms the forty.fifth part"-showing, we may suppose, that only some small clements of the question bad been overlooked by the cRlcnbtor. The defect changes to an exce~s in the diilerent systems of the satellites, where it is proportionally greater than in the planets, and unequal in tha different system . "F'rom the whole of these comparisons," says he, "I deduced the following general result: Suppo ing the mathematical limit of the solar atmosphere suecessi v ely extended to the regions where the ditlerent planets arc now found, the duration of the sun'M rotation was, at each of those epochs, sensibly equal to that of the actual sidereal revolution of the corre J>onding planet; and the same is true for each planetary atmosphere in relation to th~ dHfe• rent satellites -Gout·$ de .Pililosophie Positif. 'I"HEIR ARRANGEMENT AND FORMATION. 15 out seeking for it support of any other kind. Some other support I trust yet to bring to it-: but in the meantime, ~ssuming its truth, let us see what idea it gives of the ~onstitution 'O"f what we term the universe, of the development of its various parts, and of its original condition. Reverting to a former illustration-if we could suppose a number of persons of various ages presented to the in .. &pection of an intelligent being newly introduced into the world, we cannot doubt that he would soon become convinced that men had once been boys, that boys had once been infants, and, finally, that aU had been brought into the world in exacUy the same circumstances. Precisely thus, seeing in our astral system many thousands of worlds in all stages of formation, from the most rudimental to that immediately preceding the present conditiQn of those we deem perfect, it is unavoidable to conclude that all the perfect have gone through the various stages which we ' see in the rudimental. This leads us at once to the conelusion that the whole of our firmament was at one time a diffused mass of nebulous matter, extending through the space which it still occupies. So also, of course, must have been the other astral systems. Indeed, we must presume the whole to have been originally in one connected mass, the astral systems bei'llg only the first division into parts, and solar systems the second. The first idea which all this impresses upon us is, that the formation of bodies in space is still and at present in progre:ss. "\.Ve live at a time when many have been formed, and many are still forming, Our own solar system is t~ be regarded as completed, supposing its perfection to consist in the formation of a series of planets, for there are mathematical reasons for concluding that Mer?ury is the nearest planet to the sun, which can, according to the laws of the system, exist. But there are other s.olar systeins \vithin our astral system, which are as yet In a less advanced state, and even some quantities of nebulous matter which have scarcely begun to advance towards the ste liar form. On the other hand, there are va~t numbers of stars which have all the appearance of bewg fully formed systems, if we are to judge from the complet~. and definite appearance ·which they present to ?Ur ~Iswn throug~ t~e telescope. We have no means of JUdging of the seniority of systems; but it is reasonable to suppose that, among th~ many, some are older than .. |