Mineral Point tribune. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1854-1858, 1854-12-27
REVELATIONS OF THE TELESroPF.


REVELATIONS OF THE TELESCOPE.
The following is from scientific work
soon to appear, called the . Universe nc
Desert. the Earth no Monopoly -
/ Such is the aspect of a clear. noctur-
nal sky to the unaided vision Imposing
as 1t is, anu suggestive of serious contem,
plation end reflections as it is. the specta-
Gle may be expanded indefinitely. AID.
pilcation Of taat magic instrument. the
telescope, displays more magnificent
scene, one bew:idering in its wide extent
and brighter rays Sparklets of night
are now become dense and numerous
clusters; cloudy specks are spacious fields
of glory thickly sprinkled with sparkling
orbs ; or are continued sheet of lambent
flame widely twisted into spiral masses
single stars are separated into double and
multiple components. beautifed by va
rlety of color and depth of tint Some
are seen revolving in duplicate and others
IN triplcate. around each other. and still
farther carried to such a degree of com
plexity as almost to battle the searching
analysis of mathematical investigation.
more luminous Instead of the eight
thousand stars observed by the naked eve
Ia all directions, we now reckon our gal
axy alone to contain at least eighteen
millions visible through optical aid In
stead of one solitary Milky Way, we
number some four thousand nebule, un-
unseen except by the telescope eye, and
many of them equal to our own in mag
nitude There is a variety in these lu-
mlnous tracts. some even seeming to be
diffused suns filling large orbital area.
We likewise observe variable stars. in
creasing and diminishing their lustre. and
in periods of circulation In
deed. the depths of the heavens surpass
the surface in almost every particular
of wonder, Even the modest men,
bers of our system become augmen-
ted in Importance Sublimity shines
through the telescope. Mercury aud Ve-
nus are found to pass through all the lu.
mar phases to our assisted vision. as we
do to the outer planets-the crescent, the
half moon, the gibbous phase, and the
full, occur to them In regular succession.
Mars presents his gibbous disk. Jupiter
discloses his little quarternion of satel-
lites revolving around a spherodial form
encircled by remarka bic belts Saturn's |
dull, leaden appearance is changed into a /
globe of FURNISHED silver, tarnished only |
by its equatorial belts, and surrounded |
by several shining rings, as well as an |
company of revolving moons
Uranus, Neptune, and over thirty aster
oids-one for each state in the Amori- /
,an Union-have been dragged from
their obscure hiding places, and rccog-
nized as native members of our solar !
circle Comets are followed tar beyond /
our former terminus of visibility, as |
hey fly off to their aphelion extremes
md are caught up on their return, long
before the natural eye discerns a lucid
lin upon the armament. Our radiant
satellite is charged from a sharp and
slender crescent into an object with
lotched edges, rugged inequality and
margin glittering with beads of light;
while a silvery plate, of circular form
'oiled with dim spots, now appears
perfect globe, indented with vast cav
,rns, and variegated by lofty mountains
md beetlne precipices. The dazzling
sun himself Is found marked with spots
,fvarious shapes. shades, and sizes, some
lines dimming his very effuleence Even
he motions of the celestial bodies become
distinctly perceptible, diagonal in their
directions, thus portraying their regular
md proper progress. and revealing the real
notion of our own globe. Rest is reduced
o a mere chimera OF Imagination. Matter
,nows no such predicament. The motion
# change is universally unexccptionable.