Wilkins, John, A discovery of a new world : or a discourse tending to prove, that 'tis probable there may be another Habitable World in the Moon ; with a discourse concerning the Probability of a Passage thither; unto which is added, a discourse concerning a New Planet, tending to prove, that 'tis probable our earth is one of the Planets
page |< < (92) of 370 > >|
27292That the Earth may be a Planet.
3. ’Tis conſiderable, That the Spheres of
Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, are, according to the
general opinion, of very great extenſion ;
and yet each of them is appointed only to
carry about its particular Planet, which are
but very little in compariſon of the fixed
Stars.
Now if for the ſcituation of theſe
fixed Stars, there ſhould be allotted a pro-
portionable part of the World, ’tis certain,
that their Orb muſt be far bigger than it is
commonly ſuppoſed, and very near to this
Opinion of Copernicus.
4. We uſually judg the bigneſs of the
higher Orbs, by their different motions.
As
becauſe Saturn finiſhes his courſe in thirty
Years, and Jupiter in twelve, therefore we
attribute unto thoſe Orbs, ſuch a different
proportion in their bigneſs.
Now if by this
Rule we ſhould find out the quantity of the
eighth Sphere, we ſhall diſcern it to be far
nearer unto that bigneſs, which Copernicus
ſuppoſeth it to have, than that which Pto-
lomy, Tycho, and others, ordinarily aſcribe
unto it.
For the ſtarry Heaven (ſay they)
does not finiſh his courſe under 26000 Years;
whereas Saturn, which is next unto it, does
compaſs his Orb in thirty Years.
From
whence it will probably follow, that there is
a very great diſtance betwixt theſe in place,
becauſe they have ſuch different terms of
their Revolutions.
But againſt this Anſwer: Unto the laſt
Argument, our Adverſaries thus reply:

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