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THE

SOLAR SYSTEM:

WITH

MORAL AND RELIGIOUS REFLECTIONS

IN REFERENCE TO

The Wonders therein Wisplayed.

Thou Sun, of this great world both eye and soul,
Acknowledge Him thy greater, sound his praise
In thy eternal course, both when thou climb'st,
And when high noon hast gain'd, and when thou fall'st.
Moon, that now meet'st the orient sun, now fliest
With the fix'd stars, fix'd in their orb that flies;
And ye five other wandering fires, that move
In mystic dance, not without song, resound
His praise, who out of darkness call'd up light.

MILTON.

BY THOMAS DICK, LL.D.

AUTHOR OF "CELESTIAL SCENERY," "THE SIDEREAL HEAVENS," "THE PRACTICAL
ASTRONOMER," ETC. ETC.

VOL. X.

PHILADELPHIA:

E. C. & J. BIDDLE, No. 39 SOUTH FOURTH STREET.

1854.

STRONOMY
LIBRARY

35 1854

Astron. Dept.

Gift of Bob to club

STRONOMY DEPT.

Printed by T K. & P. G Collins.

PREFACE.

THE following work is chiefly designed for juvenile readers, and for those who have hitherto acquired but a slender acquaintance with the general facts of astronomical science. With this view, the attention of the reader is, in the first place, directed to the general aspect and the apparent motions of the heavens, in order that he may be induced to contemplate with his own eyes the apparent movements of the celestial vault, in all its variety of aspects, as beheld in different countries and at different seasons of the year. Without such observations, the student of astronomy can never acquire a clear and accurate view of the economy of the solar system and the phenomena it presents; and therefore such personal observations are particularly recommended to all the lovers of astronomical science.

This work is a different one from "Celestial Scenery," though in some points there must necessarily be a certain coincidence. The statements of the distances, magnitudes, and general appearances of the planets must necessarily be the same in both; but the particular descriptions, remarks, and moral and religious reflections are different. A great variety of subjects likewise is introduced which are not noticed in "Celestial Scenery," such as the following:-the figure of the Earth -view of its surface, atmosphere, and the method of finding its dimensions-celestial phenomena arising from the annual motion of the earth-the destination of the earth and the final cause of its creation-motions 701024

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