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An introduction to astronomy : in a series of letters from a preceptor to his pupil ... / by John Bonnycastle
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OF THE NEW PLANET,

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and place of the discovery, Dr. Herschel has'distinguished this planet by die name of theGeorgium Sidus, following the example of Ga-lileo, who, in honour of his patrons, the illus-trious House of Medici, called the Satellites ofJupiter, which he first discovered, the MediceanStars.

- This discovery, which at first appears morecurious than useful, may yet be of great serviceto astronomy ; the circumstance of a primaryplanet having been unobserved for so manyages, will naturally lead astronomers to exa-mine,'with greater accuracy, those small starswhich have hitherto been generally neglected,cr only considered as of use in determining theposition of the planets. And these observationsmay produce many new discoveries in the celes-tial regions, by which our knowledge of theheavenly bodies, and of the immutable laws thatgovern the universe, will become much moreextended; which is the great object of thescience, and the source from whence we mayexpect to derive such consequences as are ofpractical application, and the most useful tomankind.

Having thus endeavoured to give you, in asfamiliar a manner as possible, a general idea ofthe most interesting parts of astronomy, I shallconclude the subject with Sir Isaac Newtons ac-count of the Deity, given at the latter end of5 h ' s