[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5OfCTPv_wk]It was a clear and starry night[/url] out along the coast of the Fractal Sea. In a cluster of trees, two hammocks were strung up, one holding Gerrik, the other holding Teknall. The hammock had been a sleeping solution Gerrik had devised early on in their travels, so they wouldn't have to sleep on the tough, uneven and ant-ridden ground, and it was basically a long, strong net. The sky above them was a spectacular display of cosmic objects.

Teknall eventually spoke up. [color=Peru]"What do you see up there, Gerrik?"[/color]

Gerrik thought for a moment, then replied, "Stars. Many stars, which are tiny points of light floating high above the sky. I see moons, which travel around this world, casting their light on us. There is also the glittering ring, with its shifting colours. Occasionally, specks of light, similar in appearance to stars, streak across parts of the sky. Oh, and that's new!"

This last comment was directed at a comet, which Gerrik had just noticed. This was a new object, and the first of its kind to appear in the skies of Galbar. This gift of Ull'Yang would be a wonder to appear periodically in the sky, appearing like a falling star yet moving slower than the moons, until it eventually leaves the heavenly sphere. Teknall too had only just noticed it, and as it was much further from Galbar than even its moons Teknall could not analyse it with his divine sense. The object was just as mysterious to him as it was to Gerrik, although he at least had the advantage of knowing how physics worked, and supernaturally keen perception. The tail of the comet was pointing away from the Sun rather than being indicative of its motion, so this suggested to him that it must be made of relatively volatile materials. He guessed its orbital scale to be the same as the planets.

[color=Peru]"Interesting. I wonder how long it will last..."[/color]

"I'm not sure... It's pretty, though."

[color=Peru]"You've told me what you can see, but not of the nature of the stars and other objects. This will be a tricky exercise, for sure, but we already have an important clue- the shape of Galbar."[/color]

Teknall was referring to how they had earlier deduced that Galbar was probably spherical. The argument that Galbar was rounded in shape was a simple one- the existence and nature of the horizon attested to it. That it was spherical was a continuation of this idea. They had travelled, yet they had not observed the ground sloping beneath them, as it would if the world were one big hill. That must mean that whatever was keeping everything on the ground, something they had decided to call gravity, must always point ground-ward, following the curvature of Galbar. By that logic, there was no reason that the surface of Galbar could not continue curving, even going upside down, until it closed back in on itself, forming a sphere.

Gerrik paused to think for a few minutes, until he said, "The stars are extremely high up. They all move as a group over the course of the night, similarly to the moons, or Sun. They seem to move across the sky at about the same rate as the Sun. Since the stars all move together, perhaps they are affixed to some surface, encircling Galbar at an enormous height. Maybe the Sun is also affixed to that surface, and it is bigger and brighter than all the other stars. Then that surface must rotate above us, to bring about the cycle of day and night."

Although he knew otherwise, Teknall restrained himself from outright correcting Gerrik. He would hint and suggest, but he also wanted to create an independent thinker. [color=Peru]"Hmm, a great celestial surface, upon which the stars and Sun are affixed. An interesting idea. We'll need to test it, of course.

"If the surface is that far away, it must be huge. And if it is so huge, then why should it rotate around us? If we are smaller, shouldn't we be the ones spinning?"[/color]

"I hadn't thought of that," Gerrik replied, "I suppose that makes sense, too. I figured that Galbar would be a bit heavy to be moving, but really all that does is make it harder to stop."

He thought for a few moments more, then vocalised his thoughts. "While we might not be able to ascend to the stars to observe them up close, we can at least test the idea for consistency. The moons do not seem to follow quite the same path as the stars. In fact, they all seem to follow different paths. Only slightly, that is. They still sweep across the sky at roughly the same rate, but every night they change their positions in the sky. This suggests that they move independently of this 'surface'. Their similar movements to the rest of the sky can be explained quite easily if we take Galbar as being the one which spins. This means the moons must be moving relatively slowly, rather than whizzing around us at great speed. Why they don't fall down... I'm not sure. Perhaps some force, probably the same one which makes them move, holds then aloft. Such a force would probably be associated with the surface.

"Then there are the so-called falling stars. While they look like stars, I don't think they actually are stars. If they were, we would see them hanging in place before they fell. Whatever they are, I do think they are falling, maybe even burning, which is why they disappear.

"This new object, this... what should we call it?"

[color=Peru]"How about comet?"[/color]

"Sure, comet. It shares the form of a falling star, but moves like a moon. Given how little I know about falling stars, it's hard for me to say something about this new object. Maybe it's falling really slowly? Maybe falling through the celestial surface rather than the sky? Hard to say.

"Finally, there are the rings. They do not seem to be solid, rather made up of lots of tiny shiny bits, like sand on a beach. The moons move behind it, so this suggests that it can't be part of the celestial surface. So that must put it in the space between the sky and the moons. What holds it aloft, again I can not tell, but it is probably the same power that keeps the moons up."

Seeing that Gerrik had finished, Teknall commented, [color=Peru]"Excellent observations. There is some deep insight into the nature of the Universe to be had by looking to the stars. I'm sure that, with vigilant recording of the motions of the celestial sphere, an even better model can be made."[/color]

Gerrik yawned, and said, "True. But it's late. Can I get some sleep before the Sun rises?"

[color=Peru]"Of course. Good night, Gerrik."[/color]

"Good night, Stone Chipper."

And the world continued to turn, the view of the stars above rotating until the dawn light would outshine them and bring about daytime once more.

[hider=This time, in the adventures of Teknall and Gerrik...]
Teknall and Gerrik do some stargazing and astronomy.
Earlier, they had established that the world was spherical.
Gerrik models the Sun and stars as being bound to some celestial surface, extraordinarily high above the sky. Between the sky and the celestial surface are the moons, the ring, and any other celestial objects which have motions independent of the celestial surface, and have some perceivable sense of depth.
They also observe a new object in the sky- a comet, from Ull'Yang. It is too distant for Teknall to positively identify it using his divine awareness.
[/hider]