ons do not represent the Sun's complete
paternity. There are further, in the solar republic, certain vagabond
and irregular orbs that travel at a speed that is often most immoderate,
occasionally approaching the Sun, not to be consumed therein, but, as it
appears, to draw from its radiant source the provision of forces
necessary for their perigrinations through space. These are the
_Comets_, which pursue an extremely elongated orbit round the Sun, to
which at times they approximate very closely, at other times being
excessively distant.

And now to recapitulate our knowledge of the Solar Empire. In the first
place, we see a colossal globe of fire dominating and governing the
worlds that belong to him. Around him are grouped planets, in number
eight principal, formed of solid and obscure matter, gravitating round
the central orb. Other secondary orbs, the satellites, revolve round the
planets, which keep them within the sphere of their attraction. And
lastly, the comets, irregular celestial bodies, track the whole extent
of the great solar province. To these might be added the whirlwinds of
meteors, as it were disaggregated comets, which also circle round the
Sun, and give origin to shooting stars, when they come into collision
with the Earth.

Having now a general idea of our celestial family, and an appreciation
of the potent focus that controls it, let us make direct acquaintance
with the several members of which it is composed.

CHAPTER V

THE PLANETS

_A._--MERCURY, VENUS, THE EARTH, MARS

And now we are in the Solar System, at the center, or, better, at the
focus of which burns the immense and dazzling orb. We have appreciated
the grandeur and potency of the solar globe, whose rays spread out in
active waves that bear a fecundating illumination to the worlds that
gravitate round him; we have appreciated the distance that separates the
Sun from the Earth, the third of the planets retained within his domain,
or at least I trust that the comparisons of the times required by
certain moving objects to traverse this distance have enabled us to
conceive it.

We said that the four planets nearest to the Sun are Mercury, at a
distance of 57 million kilometers (35,000,000 miles); Venus, at 108
million (67,000,000 miles); the Earth, at 149 million (93,000,000
miles); and Mars at 226 million (140,000,000 miles). Let us begin our
planetary journey with these four stations.

MERCURY

A little above the Sun