You said the Milky Way was made up of stars and Nebulæ, and that many patches of white, when looked at with a good telescope, turn out to be only lots of stars.
Yes. These are the Resolvable Nebulæ. But there are Irresolvable,—that is, some of them still look cloudy with our best telescopes. Can you find me a Nebula in Orion?
What must I look for?
A small, distinct, white patch of light.
No; I don’t see it.
Look again. Do you see the Belt, with a bright star over it, and one about the same distance below it?
I see all that clear enough, but not your Nebula.
Look, boy, steadily and closely between the Belt, and that top bright star Rigel, where on the Atlas is pictured the sword-handle of the great hunter.
I don’t feel very sure, but I fancy I can distinguish something that ought to be it.
Many folks, my boy, can see what they are told to expect. Well, that white irregular patch of light has had telescopes looking at it a good while, without anything being seen beyond a dreamy-looking cloudy matter.