Sun appears closely to resemble that of our earth.

THE PLANETS

The Syrian shepherds watching their flocks by night long ago
noticed--and they were probably not the first--that there were five
stars which did not follow the regular course of the rest, but,
apparently at least, moved about irregularly. These they appropriately
named Planets, or wanderers.

Further observations have shown that this irregularity of their path is
only apparent, and that, like our own Earth, they really revolve round
the Sun. To the five first observed--Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and
Saturn--two large ones, Uranus and Neptune, and a group of minor bodies,
have since been added.

The following two diagrams give the relative orbits of the Planets.

[Illustration: Fig. 51.--Orbits of the inner Planets.]

MERCURY

It is possible, perhaps probable, that there may be an inner Planet,
but, so far as we know for certain, Mercury is the one nearest to the
Sun, its average distance being 36,000,000 miles. It is much smaller
than the Earth, its weight being only about 1/24th of ours. Mercury is a
shy though beautiful object, for being so near the Sun it is not easily
visible; it may, however, generally be seen at some time or other during
the year as a morning or evening star.

[Illustration: Fig. 52.--Relative distances of the Planets from the
Sun.]

VENUS

The true morning or evening star, however, is Venus--the peerless and
capricious Venus.

Venus, perhaps, "has not been noticed, not been thought of, for many
months. It is a beautifully clear evening; the sun has just set. The
lover of nature turns to admire the sunset, as every lover of nature
will. In the golden glory of the west a beauteous gem is seen to
glisten; it is the evening star, the planet Venus. A week or two later
another beautiful sunset is seen, and now the planet is no longer a
glistening point low down; it has risen high above the horizon, and
continues a brilliant object long after the shades of night have
descended. Again a little longer and Venus has gained its full
brilliancy and splendour. All the heavenly host--even Sirius and
Jupiter--must pale before the splendid lustre of Venus, the unrivalled
queen of the firmament."[67]

Venus is about as large as our Earth, and when at her brightest
outshines about fifty times the most brilliant star. Yet, like all the
other planets, she glows only with the reflected light of the Sun, and
consequently passe