difference in the numbers of stars recorded, without there being
any actual inequality between the two hemispheres.

A corresponding similarity is found in the physical constitution
of the stars as brought out by the spectroscope. The Milky Way is
extremely rich in bluish stars, which make up a considerable
majority of the cloudlike masses there seen. But when we recede
from the galaxy on one side, we find the blue stars becoming
thinner, while those having a yellow tinge become relatively more
numerous. This difference of color also is the same on the two
sides of the galactic plane. Nor can any systematic difference be
detected between the proper motions of the stars in these two
hemispheres. If the largest known proper motion is found in the
one, the second largest is in the other. Counting all the known
stars that have proper motions exceeding a given limit, we find
about as many in one hemisphere as in the other. In this respect,
also, the universe appears to be alike through its whole extent.
It is the uniformity thus prevailing through the visible universe,
as far as we can see, in two opposite directions, which inspires
us with confidence in the possibility of ultimately reaching some
well-founded conclusion as to the extent and structure of the
system.

All these facts concur in supporting the view of Wright, Kant, and
Herschel as to the form of the universe. The farther out the stars
extend in any direction, the more stars we may see in that
direction. In the direction of the axis of the cylinder, the
distances of the boundary are least, so that we see fewer stars.
The farther we direct our attention towards the equatorial regions
of the system, the greater the distance from us to the boundary,