The Romance of the Moon

           Anobserverenduedwithaninfiniterangeofvision,andplacedinthatunknowncenteraroundwhichtheentireworldrevolves,mighthavebeheldmyriadsofatomsfillingallspaceduringthechaoticepochoftheuniverse.Littlebylittle,asageswenton,achangetookplace;agenerallawofattractionmanifesteditself,towhichthehithertoerrantatomsbecameobedient:theseatomscombinedtogetherchemicallyaccordingtotheiraffinities,formedthemselvesintomolecules,andcomposedthosenebulousmasseswithwhichthedepthsoftheheavensarestrewed.Thesemassesbecameimmediatelyenduedwitharotarymotionaroundtheirowncentralpoint.Thiscenter,formedofindefinitemolecules,begantorevolvearounditsownaxisduringitsgradualcondensation;then,followingtheimmutablelawsofmechanics,inproportionasitsbulkdiminishedbycondensation,itsrotarymotionbecameaccelerated,andthesetwoeffectscontinuing,theresultwastheformationofoneprincipalstar,thecenterofthenebulousmass.

           Byattentivelywatching,theobserverwouldthenhaveperceivedtheothermoleculesofthemass,followingtheexampleofthiscentralstar,becomelikewisecondensedbygraduallyacceleratedrotation,andgravitatingrounditintheshapeofinnumerablestars.ThuswasformedtheNebulae,ofwhichastronomershavereckonedupnearly5,000.

           Amongthese5,000nebulaethereisonewhichhasreceivedthenameoftheMilkyWay,andwhichcontainseighteenmillionsofstars,eachofwhichhasbecomethecenterofasolarworld.