The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1877-08-30
The Solar system.

That group or system of celestia
bodies called the solar system is composed
of nine principal planets, with their
moons, and q large number of small
planets or asteroids. They may be
divided into
l. A central body, the sun, compare
lively immovable in the group, much
larger than all the Others, and self-lu-
minous.
3 The planets, situated at different
distances from the sun, revolving around
it in nearly circular orbits, and receiving
light from it. These may be divided
into three groups:
(a.) The inferior planets, so called on
account of their size. These are situated
the neaaest to the sun. and in order of
place are Mercury, Venus, the Earth,
Mars.
o. The superior planets, situated
farther from the sun-Jupiter, Saturn,
Uranus, Neptune.
(c.) The asteroids, a large number of
very small planets, revolving in a ring
between Mars and Jupiter.
8. Twenty-Five moons belonging to the
different principal planets, Jupiter hav-
ing four. Saturn eight, Uranus eight.
Neptune one or two, and the Earth one.
4. a nebulous ring, the zOdiacal light,
the position of which Is not exactly de-
termined, and also one or two rings of
aerolites shooting stars and meteOrs.
5. Several comets, or bodies revolving
around .he sun in very elliptical orbits.
Some of them have well-defned orbits,
but of many the paths are still unknown.
some of them probably never reaching
our system but once.
The sun, the planets, and the moons
are of sperical shape, slightly fattened
at the poles in most instances. Most of
them are known to have revolution on
their axes similar to that of the earth |
The planets TevOlve around the sun and |
the moon or satellites around the planet !
to which they belong, in the same direc-
ton that is, if an observer be supposed !
to be placed at the center of the system, |
the sun, and facing the north, the planets |
would pass in front of him froTa right to |
left, or in a direction opposite to that of |
the hands of a watch. They have a |
revolution on their axes from right to |
left also.
The curves described by the planets in |
their revolution around the sun are el- |
ipses, which are almost circular, and |
they are nearly in the same plane, called |
the ecliptic. The angles they make with |
blAo pldLC dic fCI Siudll III Luo CdSO VI /
the true planets, being only seven degrees
for Mercury, and averaging about two |
and one half degrees. The asteroids differ |
more from this plane, the angles of some /
of them being as much as thirty degrees. |
So that, looking st them from the earth |
they seen to revolye in. n belt or zone |
called the zodiac.
If, then, we look at the solar system in |
the plane of the ecliptic, we see a bright |
point, the sun, in the center, and various |
little sparkling points moving from one |
side of it to the other. Looking at the |
system from above we see the central |
luminous point and the smaller points !
going around it in nearly circular eclipses
at various distances.
From analogy, since the satellites re-
vOlve around the planets and the planets |
around the sun, we would imagine that |
the sun and its satellites would De found |
to revOlve around some other and larger |
sun. Such seems to be the case, but the
exact location of the central point must
remain conjectural for many years to
COME