ASTRONOMY AND METEOROLOGY. 



365 



A third new planet was discovered by Gasparis, at Naples, on Nov. 

 2, resembling a star of the 9.10 magnitude. Prof. Schumacher an- 

 nounces the discovery, in a circular dated Nov. 14, and states that 

 Gasparis detected it by means of the zones in the vicinity of the eclip- 

 tic, which he had constructed to aid him in his search for planets. 

 Dr. Petersen estimates it as of the 10 magnitude. The new planet 

 has been named Egeria by Leverrier, at the request of Gasparis. 



THIRD RING OF SATURN. 



THE Messrs. Bond, of the Cambridge Observatory, have at length 

 succeeded in establishing the existence of a third ring around the 

 planet Saturn, which has been for some time suspected. It is within 

 the inner edge of the other rings, and is not, as some have supposed, 

 a subdivision of the old ring, like those described by Encke and others. 

 The light reflected from its surface is so feeble as to cause its projec- 

 tion on the globe to appear like a very narrow dark line across the 

 disk. It will be remembered, that the eighth satellite of Saturn was 

 discovered by Mr. Bond about two years since. A detailed account 

 of the new discovery, illustrated by drawings, is now preparing, but 

 some months must necessarily elapse before it can be published. 

 Editors. 



DISCOVERY OF A SECOND SATELLITE OF NEPTUNE. 



THE following extract of a letter from Mr. Lassell to the Astrono- 

 mer Royal, dated August 14, is printed in a late number of the Pro- 

 ceedings of the Royal Astronomical Society : "I have strong rea- 

 son to suspect that I have to-night detected a second satellite of Nep- 

 tune. Last night, the 13th, at about eleven o'clock, I observed the 

 satellite of Neptune for the first time this season, and made a diagram 

 of it, the satellite being towards its southern elongation. The sky 

 was extremely unfavorable ; and finding that no measures of either 

 position or distance could be taken with any chance of accuracy, I at- 

 tempted none. To-night, in a somewhat better, but still bad sky, I 

 see what I conceive to be another satellite, in the line of northern 

 elongation of the old satellite, and about two diameters distant. This 

 cannot well be the satellite already known, which ought to be almost 

 preceding the planet ; and in that position is generally invisible. 

 There can be no question of the reality of the observations, the satel- 

 lite of to-night (considerably fainter than that of last night) being re-j 

 peatedly and almost constantly seen with various powers, e. g. 316,' 

 479, 628. The position of the satellite is, as I have said, very nearly; 

 in the direction of the greatest northern elongation of the old one, and, 

 being barely two diameters of the planet distant, may probably be in- 

 ferior to it. The sky became cloudy shortly after eleven, and remained 

 so, which prevented any confirmatory observations of motion. But 

 think the hypothesis of a fixed star of a similar magnitude and in thel 

 precise direction being located there, is too unlikely to throw much 

 doubt upon the discovery." 



31 * 



