New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1856-03-11
Lyceuna Lectures,

Prof. Gou1d's lecture last evening, at the Lyceum
dall, was listened t. BY d very attentive audience,
comprising many ofSour most respectable citizens.
The lecturer proceeded in continuance of his former
.ddress to say:
Line irregular arTangementof the stars, and their
gronping into nebula always strikes the beholder.
The Pliades and Berenices Hair are the hest known
If these groups, but the sky ii filed with them. In
oerseus and others, minute clusters only dis
ingnishabIe by The most powerful Telescopes These
title clusters nehu@, and often deceive the eye
" their resemblance to stars Their form varies iYr
accordance with the strength Of the telescope Their
yhiteness was what led Hersehe the elders into his
dea Of nebuIosity ora fluid ofWhich worlds made*
This chaotic matter called nebula, in obedience to
The lawso of gravation, sometimes seems to be merged
in one great Whole. The theme cansenly be touched
by hypothesis In leaving the firm ground Of astron-
omy for these speculations we laaaeh on to an un-
known sea and science gives way before the incon-
ceivable renoteness of these stars Of immensity
Herschel, the elder built a telescope forty feet in
length and four in diardeter by means Of which he
was enabled to resolve Of the nebul8 into plan
ep out came to believe that the greater part the
lnasser and component Of other worlds in an Uniformed
state he saw some stars with the nebulosity, still
adhering one side. Hebehed new worlds forming,
and saw she birth Of unfverses. All was explained
by the law Of gravftation acting On chaos and pre-
pairing new planets
While Herschel was discovering these things the
great philosopher OF Franee-La Piaee-had been
conducted to the nebular hypothesis, byhis grand
discovery. It is owing to the mathenatics Of the
latter and the discovery Of the former that we have
our nebuar hypothesis, planetary body may have
direct or retroade to the spectator, and it
is immate,ia which way it moves to accomplish its
To Ennty nj these Gph-
tai notions OF which the sun has one. We know Of
eight great and thirtyeght small planets, and thir
teen satellites, revolving from right to left in this
manner, -Four have been discovered lately. The d.
recon of the sun and two other planets intheir mo
ton of rotation has been discovered. From this fact
Laplace started in his theory. The fact that the
large planets sin almost regular circuits is also
established. Now, if the planets moved, has been
supposed, they would fatten into discs, and the
attracveness of cohesion would be destroyed, where
by the outer rim would be thrown off. rotary nell
ula like that imagined by Lapace, would, in this
manner, be ultimately dispelled and solid masses
| would be formed from the fragments. The rings Of
Saturn we now know to be fluid, and it is supposed
that worlds once were. Geology can, through this
field be allied to astronomy, as it records the results
| of this constant condensation in our own world.
Herschets nferenees have lately been disproved to
some degree by the Of the nature Of nebul,
and few astronomers now consider it indisputable-
even his son has given itup Agrander idea supplies
its place How vast were the stellar distances until the
present nebular theory was taken up, and worlds
we're found beyond the frthes reach Of the most pow
erfnl telescopes, shining the nearer won't
todo I.apIace's theory is not shaken however, by
Herschels that nebuIa are worlds in process Of pre-
sent formation.
An experiment Of Plateau's toerabiy explains all
this. He shows that although ardent spirits and
water will mix, oil will not mix with either separately,
but when the two are mixed the third will combine
with them. If teaspoon full Of oil is poured into a
Il glass of water it will be drawing itself into little
spheroids. Put tue glnss in rapid rotary motion,
and all of the oil will be collected into single sphe-
roid Or globe, A very rapid rotation Will, however.
cause the outer rim to reyolve from the central body
and form itself into other spheres. If any accident
occurs these lesser globes will in their turn be parted
and become still lesser globes eircling rouud the
parent one This is in simple language the gist of ths
nebuar hypothesis; and thus in glass of brandy ant
y water the whole plan may be frequently seen elml
Il mated.
4 Up to the year 1903, only llo comets were knowr
It Their excessive tenuity discovered by come
y passing over Jupiter without any result; and als
because stars are dscoverabe through them. It We
years, proving its orbit to be the same as had bee
IN calculated. The views now are that thegare asst
:; roids or debris of former planets. They have hes
~, very useful to reporters from we cam
ma reach. Their form is eliptca but near parabo
that we cannot distinguish between them. parabo
u, vi would move in one track only but eljpse cou
no not be calculated, and Halleys is the only com
whose course in this direction has ever been pro!
~ mately calculated The periods of forty have be-
lo correctly calculated, land now look for an annu
n, increase Arngo thinks that comets shine by
u fracted light from the The waves of light ha
is peculiar color when reflected, and Arago, on tt
oi ground, based his theory. There$aFe also 9th
hs grounds equally strong.
he The worlds were built i'll order, and the plane
o. march in tune. All knowledge, in increase of VIII
nj was known, is pleasing but it strikes singu
~ to conjecture of worlds all moved by magnetism al
~ polarsn within regularly prescribed routes. Encke
comet has shown rs the fact that there resstir
Oil mediums in the heavens, the waves of light hs
shown before. Every philosopher believes there is
medium of the kind which is called Ether; and Enck
who founded the Berlin school Of computing phiIos
ply which has been proved by Enckes comet agree
St with him.
ne The solar system contains within itself the seeds
aI the destruction of all worlds Enekes comet is mo
le light and vaporsh than any air in exhausted al
lis pump Every planet is with greater or less yeocit
~ ~ drawing nearer the Universes are born and Ii
nj | and die like the insects of an hour.
ere The remainder Of the subject not less interestil
Of than its introduction must be deferred to futu
o,f ,f | evening.
tha The discourse was listened to with great deal
ces interest and the illustrations very frequently
ing plauded
age Con- Tp,-ccrn(sne of file members of the eof
laturc night utally attacked by that uotorio
self leader the Tbu gang-mp Post The infamous scound
took advaTage n the darkness Of the nghtto assa no
lia hope city police will IT. that
r5 offender is speedily brought to justice.t E4#54s