What is Astronomy?

The science which treats of the heavenly bodies, their arrangement,
magnitudes, distances and motions. The term Astronomy is derived from
two Greek words, signifying the _law_ of the _stars_; _astron_ being
the Greek for star.


What can you say of its origin?

Its origin has been ascribed to several persons, as well as to
different nations and ages. Belus, King of Assyria; Atlas, King of
Mauritania; and Uranus, King of the countries situated on the shores
of the Atlantic Ocean, are all recorded as the persons to whom the
world is indebted for this noble science. Its origin is generally
fixed in Chaldea. Some choose, however, to attribute it to the
Hebrews; others to the Egyptians,--from whom, they say, it passed to
the Greeks.


What country is meant by Mauritania?

Mauritania is the name formerly given to a country in the northern
part of Africa. Chaldea is the ancient name for Babylonia, now called
Irak Arabi, a district of Asiatic Turkey.


By whom were the heavenly bodies first divided into Constellations or