Chapter V
Reading edition
CHAPTER V
THE ASTEROIDS, A FAMILY OF DWARF WORLDS 129
Only four asteroids large enough to be measured—Remarkable differences in their brightness irrespective of size—Their widely scattered and intermixed orbits—Eccentric orbit of Eros—the nearest celestial body to the earth except the moon—Its existence recorded by photography before it was discovered—Its great and rapid fluctuations in light, and the curious hypotheses based upon them—Is it a fragment of an exploded planet?—The startling theory of Olbers as to the origin of the asteroids revived—Curious results of the slight force of gravity on an asteroid—An imaginary visit to a world only twelve miles in diameter