8. Jupiter is the largest major planet. It makes a great jump from the sun of 483,000,000 miles, carried by its planet current to complete its orbit in 12 years. Rotates every 9 hours, 55 minutes, and 37 seconds. Diameter, 88,000 miles; has seven satellites. The climate has a very even temperature due to its fast rotation.
9. Saturn, the beauty of the skies, carried by its planet current around the sun at its main distance of 883,000,000 miles (a greater distance of 400,000,000 miles than Jupiter) which requires about 29 1/2 years. Rotates once every 10 hours, 14 minutes, and 23 seconds. Diameter, 75,000 miles. It has ten satellites and three rings of unconcentrated material. The cape ring is about 9,000 miles across, the other two about 16,000 each. Diameter of rings about 170,000 miles, which makes the rings very close to the surface.
10. Uranus is carried by its planet current around the sun at a great distance of 1,778,000,000 miles, which requires about 84 years. Rate of rotation unknown. Diameter, 31,000 miles. It has four satellites.
11. Neptune is the farthest from the sun. Its main distance being 2,792,000,000 miles; carried by its planet current over its orbit once in 164 years, 9 months. Diameter, 37,000 miles. Period of rotation unknown. Has one satellite. At Neptune we haven't taken a step but our next neighbor is across the divide. Let us have a fairy dream and travel from the sun to Neptune in a straight or direct course at the rate of 1,000,000 miles an hour; it would take us 116 1/3 days to reach Neptune.
[Figure: Line drawing, captioned "The solar system.">[
CHAPTER IV ACROSS THE DIVIDE
1. Crossing the divide (Abyss) we encounter other systems of about 25,000,000,000, or the first magnitude. Our most powerful glass reaches the 16th.
Magnitude is very uneven and irregular, and beyond this there is no end.
2. Many constellations have more than one sun, while others are double, quadruple, and multiple. It is estimated a brilliant star, and can be seen; of these over a million have been catalogued and only about 25 whose distance have been measured.