ASTRONOMY AND METEOROLOGY. 



NETV PLACETS DISCOVERED IN 1357. 



THE number of planetary bodies belonging to the solar system was in- 

 creased during the year 1857, by the discovery of eight new asteroids. The 

 forty-third asteroidal planet was discovered April 15, 1857, by Mr. Pogson, 

 of the Radclitfe Observatory, Oxford, England. It appears as a star of the 

 ninth magnitude, and has received the name Ariadne. 



The forty-fourth was discovered by M. Goldschmidt of Paris, May 27. 

 It appears as a star of the tenth or eleventh magnitude, and has received 

 the name Ni/sa. 



The forty-fifth was also discovered by M. Goldschmidt on the 28th of 

 June, and has been called Eugenia. 



The forty-sixth was discovered by Mr. Pogson of Oxford, England, on 

 the IGth of August, and has received the name of Pales. 



The forty-seventh was discovered by M. Luther, of the Observatory of 

 Bilk, on the 15th of September, and has received the name of Iltstla. 



The forty-eighth and forty -ninth asteroids were discovered by M. Gold- 

 schmidt on the same evening, September 19th. The forty-eighth resembles a 

 star of the eleventh magnitude, and the forty-ninth changes in brightness 

 from the tenth to the eleventh magnitude. It has been suggested in the 

 Trench Academy that these two asteroids should be termed the twins, and 

 that to distinguish them, one should be named No. 1 and the other No. 2. 



The fiftieth asteroid was discovered by Mr. Fergurson of the Observatory 

 of Washington, on the evening of the 4th of October, and has received the 

 name Virginia. 



ON THE BRINGS OF SATURN. 



The theory of the gradual approximation of the rings towards Saturn, as 

 advanced by several astronomical authorities, has been recently investigated 

 by the Rev. Mr. Main of England, and Professors Kaiser and Secchi. Mr. 

 Main, after submitting a series of observations of the rings to a searching 

 investigation, came to the conclusion that there exist no real grounds for 

 the hypothesis that the bright rings are gradually approaching the body of 

 the planet. A similar result was deduced by Professor Kaiser. Professor 

 Secchi's observations would seem to indicate that the rings, besides having 

 a rotatory motion around the planet, are also elliptical. 



