Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1848-09-21

Hpn ofn foun1 ORD, throughout ehoal spnce,
And 'entient be'ngsto every world is given,
In countless numbers through the boundcss heavsni
1t is not supposed that the following re-
marks will be deemed altogether new to men
of science, yet the arguments supporting
them are new. They may prove interesting
however, to some of your readers.
The stars which are called fred in con-
tra-distinction to those which move in orbits,
called planets, are extremely remote from
this world. Our sum- with respect to otner
systems, would be deemed fixed star, as it
is now universally admitted that all the f1ed
stars are suns like ours, surrounded by their
planets, satellites and inhabitants That
there is one chorus Of praise and glory as
cending from intelligent beings to the throne
of God from all parts of his infinite crea.
ton, there can be no doubt
: According to DR.. Bradley, DR.. HALEY,
the celebrated Huygens, and other astrono-
mers, the distance of the star Draconis,
(Which is of the 4th magnitude) from this
: earth, is about four hundred thousand times
that of the sun, or 3S, 000, 900 900 900
miles and the distance of the nearest fixed
star not less than 10000 diameters of the
earth's orbit, 1900, 900 100000 miles,
The fixed stars have no sensible parallax;
or, in other words, their distance is so great
that the diameter Of the earths orbit which
is about one hundred and ninety millions
of miles, bears on instruments of observa-
ton no sensible relation to their distances
for when viewed from either extremity of
the earths orbit, the fixed stars do not sem
sibly vary their position in the heavens!
Then as these distances are so immensely
great, let us compare them with the velocity
of some moving body known to us. Light
travels from the sun to this earth in eight
minutes and IL seconds, or at the rate of
about IL millions of miles in minute -
Yet it would be six years in coming from
; the star Dracons TO this earth and fifteen
months in coming from the nearest fixed
star So that if Draconis were extinguish-
ed at this moment, it would be visible to US
for six years to come. If, as according TO
Moses, the fixed stars were created during
the six days, Adam and Eve must have been
six years old before they could see Draconis,
) and fifteen months old before any of the
) stars were visible A wi0ri
A cannon ball discharged from 80
FOUNDER under the most favorable circum-
stances, has velocity of about twenty miles
per minute. Yet it would not reach the star
Draconis in less than $780, 900 years -
Nor would it reach the nearest fixed star in
less than 100000 years Were the star
Dracons to explode, and were it possible
for the noise to reach this earth, it would
not be heard in less time than 5000, 600
years. Sound travels at the rate of about
10 miles minute. This earth moves in
y its orbit around the sun about at the rate Of
900 miles in minute, yet, had it, from
IF Al. ~.
of its creation, according to Moses, it would
: be 1900 years in reaching the star Dracon-
is, and, consequently, would have still to
e travel, from lS4S, not less than 500 years
n to arrive there!
How humiliating to the pride of man are
the works of the Almighty! If what we
r call matter was brought together from in
I finite space at the command of God, and
= formed into globes without number, are we
, therefore to conclude that infinite space was
e created? think not. 1t must be an at
D tribute of the Supreme Being, and i, may
I be truly said, that in God we live and move
G and have our being.
n What we call matter cannot be DESTROYED.
e Its component parts may be changed, and
perhaps reduced to their first elements in
n such way as to render it, to our senses, a
$ perfect nonentity The inuumerabe works
e now in infinite space might by the fiat Of
Him who brought them together, be so dis
: solved and distributed through it as to rem
h der their elements as completely intangible
n to mortal senses and incomprehensible to
mortal thought as infinite space itself! The
matter III our solar system, including the
, sun, the primary and secondary planets and
: comets, would not bear as much relation of
:. magnitude to sphere of space, having the
: sun for its centre, and extending half way
to the nearest fixed star, viz, a semi-diam-
n eter of $500 900, 900 900, as the head of
I common pin bears to this earth of eight
y thousand miles in diameter And if this
! head of pin were dissolved and equally
=. distributed in globe of space the size Of
y this earth, it is very clear that it would be
. as equally intangible and ncomprehensibe
10 morials as space itself. Therefore,
conclude, a foniOri, that not only infinite
space but infinite matter also, contained in
it, are eternal And that neither infinite
. space nor infinite matter, were created, but
are both attributes of the Supreme Being
/. "whOse body Nature is, and God the sOul!"
G That matter NAV be dissolved by the same
d power that brought it together, and be re-
t modelled into new worlds, perhaps few men
; will dispute. Infinite space is inmaterial,
! as regards its appreciation by morials, aud
e although matter in its present form can be
!, appreciated, yet if distributed throughout
r infinite space, it would be, as regards US,
y equally as immaferiai as space itself. 1.-THE
# matter of the solar system were distributed
5 throughout the sphere, above referred to,
e from which it must have been derived, it
I could not, according TO the ordinary laws
e of nature, get together to reform the present
{, globes in less time than seven months and
a half, even if the elements travelled with
velocity equal to that of light
NorE.-A comet is to appear this year.
~ Y, Mirror,