THE BEAUTY OF THE HEAVENS.

which maintains the productive powers of nature, by whatever particular processthese phenomena are produced, the scientific and well-informed universallyagree, and the most unlearned are convinced.

The received opinions as to the character of the sun’s composition, areillustrated in a distinct scene.

In a first and familiar statement of the distances, magnitudes, and motionsof the bodies composing the system, in every case the nearest approximatenumbers will be given, simply because they are more easily retained in thememory; minute exactitude is deferred to an advanced stage of the lecture,when it becomes more essential.

The diameter of the Sun is computed to be 886,000 of our miles ; and it hasa movement of rotation on its own axis, once in twenty-five and a half of ourdays, nearly in a direction from west to east.

The actual motions of the other planets will be more clearly understood, if,referring to the scene before us, we now imagine ourselves placed at its centreas a station of observation.

The nearest planet to the sun is Mercury : his distance from which iscomputed to be 37 millions of miles, and his diameter 3,224 miles ; he hasa movement of rotation on his own axis, in a direction from west to east, ina little more than twenty-four hours ; and performs a revolution about the sun(also in a direction from west to east) in about eighty-eight days ; moving,in this orbit of revolution, at the rate of 111,500 miles in’each hour.

The second planet, in point of distance from the sun, is Venus : her com-puted distance from it is nearly 69 millions of miles, and her diameter 8,648miles. She has a rotation on her own axis, in a direction from west to east,in twenty-three hours and a half of our time ; and performs a revolutionabout the sun in 224 days and 17 hours nearly ; moving in her orbit at the rateof more than 80,000 miles in each hour.

Our Earth is the third planet in distance from the sun. Of the earth, Ineed only observe, at present, that we are somewhat more than 95 millions ofmiles distant from the sun ; that the earth has a rotation on her own axisin twenty-four hours, in a direction from west to east; and performs a revo-lution about the sun in 365 days, 6 hours, and somewhat more than 9 minutes ;moving in her orbit at a rate of about 68,000 miles in each hour.

The Moon , although not a primary planet, but a secondary, or satellite toour earth, is to us the most remarkable of all the subordinate heavenly bodies :she is particularly distinguished by her periodical change of figure, and theconsequent variation of her light. The moon is situated at a comparativelysmall distance from the earth, and'constantly accompanies it in its revolutionabout the sun, revolving round it nearly in the same manner as the earth itselfcirculates about that luminary. The distance of the moon from the earth is only240,000 miles ; her diameter is nearly 2,180 miles; she revolves about the earth,in a direction from west to east, in twenty-nine of our days, and nearly thirteenhours, and has a motion of rotation on her own axis in a contrary direction, and