LUMEN. They were not only real, but comprehensible and capable of
demonstration. You shall have an astronomical explanation of them.
In the first place, I examined the position of the Earth in the
constellation of the Altar as I have told you; I took the bearings of
my position relatively to the Polar star and to the Zodiac. I remarked
that the constellations were not very different from those we see from
the Earth, and that except in the case of a few particular stars,
their positions were evidently the same. Orion still reigned in the
ultra-equatorial region, the Great Bear pursuing his circular course
still pointing to the north. In comparing the apparent movements, and
co-ordinating them scientifically, I calculated that the point where
I saw the group of the Sun, the Earth, and the planets, marked the
17th hour of right ascension, that is to say, about the 256th degree,
or nearly so. I had no instrument to take exact measurements. I
observed, in the second place, that it was on the 44th degree from the
South Pole. I made these observations to ascertain the star on which
I then was, and I was led to conclude that I was on a star situated
on the 76th degree of right ascension, and the 46th degree of north
declination. On the other hand, I knew from the words of the old man
that the star on which we were was not far from our Sun, since he
considered it to be one of the neighbouring stars. From these data I
had no difficulty in recalling the star that stands in the position I
had determined. One only answered to it, that of the first magnitude,
Alpha in the constellation of Auriga, named also _Capella_, or the
_Goat_.
There was no doubt about this. Thus I was certain that I was on one of
the planetary worlds of the sun Capella. From thence our Sun looks like
a simple star, and appears in perspective to be in the constellation of
the Altar, just opposite that of Auriga, as seen from the Earth.
Then I tried to remember what was the parallax of this star. I recalled
that a friend of mine, a Russian astronomer, had made a calculation,
which had been confirmed, of this parallax. It was proved to be
0,″046.--When I had thus solved the mystery my heart beat with joy.
Every geometrician knows that parallax indicates mathematically the
distance in units of the magnitude employed in the calculation. I
sought then to recall exactly the distance which separated this star
from the Earth, in order to prove the accuracy of the calculation. I
only needed to find out what number corresponded to 0,″046.[2]
[Sidenote: The velocity of light.]