Copy 1, Volume 1
The gallery of nature and art; or, a tour through creation and science. Comprising new and entertaining descriptions of the most surprising volcanoes, caverns, cataracts, whirlpools, waterfalls, earthquakes, and other wonderful and stupendous phenomena of nature. Forming a rich and comprehensive view of all that is interesting and curious in every part of the habitable world. By the Rev. E. Polehampton, and John M. Good, F.R.S. Illustrated by one hundred engravings / [Edward Thomas William Polehampton].
- Polehampton, Edward (Edward Thomas William), 1777?-1830.
- Date:
- 1821
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: The gallery of nature and art; or, a tour through creation and science. Comprising new and entertaining descriptions of the most surprising volcanoes, caverns, cataracts, whirlpools, waterfalls, earthquakes, and other wonderful and stupendous phenomena of nature. Forming a rich and comprehensive view of all that is interesting and curious in every part of the habitable world. By the Rev. E. Polehampton, and John M. Good, F.R.S. Illustrated by one hundred engravings / [Edward Thomas William Polehampton]. Source: Wellcome Collection.
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![[ 43] CHAP. VI. ON THE NATURE AND CONSTRUCTION OF THE SUN AND FIXED STARS. — OO Amonc the celestial bodies, the sun is certainly the first which should attract our notice. It is a fountain of light that illuminates the world! it is the cause of that heat which maintains the pro- ductive power of nature, and makes the earth a fit habitation for man! it is the central body of the planetary system; and what renders a knowledge of its nature still more interesting to us is, that the numberless stars which compose the universe, appear, by the strictest analogy, to be similar bodies, Their innate light is so in- tense, that it reaches the eye of the observer from the remotest re- gions of space, and forcibly claims his notice. Now, if we are con- vinced that an inquiry into the nature and properties of the sun is highly worthy of our notice, we may also with great satisfaction re- flect on the considerable progress that has already been made in our knowledge of this eminent body. It would require a long de- tail to enumerate all the various discoveries which have been made on this subject ; I shall therefore content myself with giving only the most remarkable of them, Sir Isaac Newton has shown that the sun, by its attractive power, retains the planets. of our system in their orbits, He has also pointed out the method by which the quantity of matter it contains may be accurately determined. Dr. Bradley has assigned the ye- locity of the solar light with a degree of precision exceeding our utmost expectation. Galileo, Scheiner, Hevelius, Cassini, and others, have ascertained the rotation of the sun on its axis, and de- termined the position of its equator. By means of the transit of Venus over the sun’s disc, mathematicians have calculated its dis- tance from the earth ; its real diameter and magnitude; the den- sity of the matter of which it is composed; and the fall of heavy bodies on its surface. From the particulars here enumerated, it is obvious that we have already a very clear idea of the vast import- ance, and powerful influence of the sun, on its planetary system.](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b33091304_0001_0065.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
