262 GEOGRAPHY AND ASTRONOMY. The chief mountains are the Apalachin bills in North America, which divide Florida from the more northern countries; and the Andes in South America, which is a long ridge of moun- tains running front the south part of America toward thenorth. Travellers suppose them to be the highest in the world. Thus I have described the various countries of the earth in a very brief but imperfect manner, sufficient only to give the young and ignorant reader a taste of geography, and to encourage him to pursue the study farther in that excellent manual Gordon's Geographical Grammar, or in volumes of larger size. SECT. XVILOf the fixed Stars in the Heavenly Globe. AS the Terrestial Globe has the various countries, cities, mountains, rivers and seas drawn upon it ; so on the Celestial Globe are placed the fixed stars exactly according to their situa- tion in tire,heavens. Yet there is this difference between the re- presentations made by the heavenly and those made by the earthly globe, viz. That the several countries, rivera and seas, are representedon the convex or outward surface of the earthly globe, just as they lie naturally on the convex surface of the earth; whereas the stars naturally appear to us in the concave, or inward hollow surface of the heaven, but they are represented on the heavenly globe on the convex surfaceof it. Therefore we must supposeour eye to be placed in the centre of the globe, in order to have the stars and heavens appear to us in their conca- vity and proper situation. Planets and comets are vulgarly called by the general name of stars; but the fixed stars differ from the planets and the comets in this, that they always keep the same placeor 'distance with regard to one another ; whereas the planets and cornets are perpetually changing their places and distances with regard to one another, and with regard to thefixed stars. They differ also in this respect, that the fixed stars generally twinkle, except when near the zenith, or seen through a telescope; and they shoot sprightly beams like the sun, which is usually given as a proof, that like the sun they shine with their own light; the pla- nets have a more calm aspect like the moon, and never twinkle, which is one argument among many others that they derive their light from the sun, and shine only by reflection. For our better acquaintance with the fixed stars, astronomers have reduced them to certain constellations. This we have shewn already in the second section, concerning those stars that lie in the zodiac, which are reduced to l2 constellations, and called the ,twelve signs, (viz.) Aries or the rain, Taurus or the bull, Ge- mini or the twins, &c. the rest of the stars are distinguished into the northern and southern constellations, as lying north or south of the zodiac or ecliptic.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=