[1]The remark in the text applies to all the major planets and to a large number of the minor planets, but certain of the minor planets travel in orbits which are considerably inclined to the ecliptic, and therefore to all the other planets.
[2]Given in full in my Handbook of Astronomy, 4th ed., vol. i., p. 26.
[3]“Recollections of Past Life,” 2nd ed., p. 305.
[4]For some information respecting these Secchi “Types” of Stars, see my “Story of the Stars,” 2nd ed., p. 140.
[5]The circle and the ellipse are what are called “closed” curves.
[6]It is not a little singular that the Chinese in bygone centuries have often alluded to comets under the name of vapours; e.g., the comet of 1618 is recorded as having been “a white vapour 20 cubits long.”
