[ 307 ] 

 XXXIX. Proceedings of Learned Societies. 



ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY. 



[Continued from p. 151.] 



Jan. 11, /^N the Phsenomena attending the disappearance of Sa- 

 1850. ^ turn's Ring. By the Rev. W. R. Dawes. 



"The interesting phaenomena attending the disappearance of 

 Saturn's ring in 1848, can scarcely have failed to attract the atten- 

 tion of the possessors of powerful telescopes in this country ; but 

 none, I believe, of the observations made have been presented to the 

 Astronomical Society. From Professor Bond, however, a paper 

 appears in the Monthly Notices for November 1849, containing ob- 

 servations made on Saturn with Merz's large refractor at Cambridge, 

 U.S. ; and also some inferences which he deduces from them. 



" My own refractor (then at Cranbrook) being employed on a 

 regular series of micrometrical observations, was only occasionally 

 turned on the planet. What was noticed, however, was usually 

 recorded at the time in my observatory journal, though without any 

 intention of publication ; for it was imagined that the results of ob- 

 servations with far more powerful telescopes, reflecting and refracting, 

 would doubtless appear in the Monthly Notices, and render my own 

 superfluous. On a perusal of Professor Bond's paper, however, I 

 find that I have noticed several interesting particulars not alluded to 

 by him ; and also that the deductions I have drawn from some of 

 the phaenomena observed by both of us difi^er greatly from his. I 

 therefore beg to present to the Society the following extracts from 

 my journal, with some remarks upon them. 



" ' 1848, June 30. Saturn. Power 252. The ansee of the ring 

 are not quite invisible. They are of a deep coppery tinge ; and on the 

 following arm is a faint satellite. I get an occasional glimpse of a 

 similar appearance on the preceding arm, but cannot decidedly verify 

 it. The planet is more than 2^ hours east of the meridian. On 

 looking again carefully with powers 252 and 163, I cannot be cer- 

 tain of either of the points upon the ring ; for the ring itself seems 

 brighter in those parts ; and I question whether it be not a small 

 portion of the ring which reflects more light. On estimating care- 

 fully, I find the part must be about the extremity of the inner ring, 

 which is its brightest part. 



" ' July 15. The ring is visible, with the two dots [bright points] 

 on it as before. 



" 'August 9. Occasionally an exceedingly faint dushy red line 

 extends on each side of the shadow on the ball [being the arms of 

 the ring] . 



" ' August 20. The shadow of the ring on the ball is very nar- 

 row. The arms of the ring not visible. 



"'Sept. 1. Power 163. Excessively narrow shadow of the ring 

 on the ball. Belts strong, especially the two parallel ones in the 

 northern hemisphere. No trace of the ring. 



" ' Sept. 2. W^ G.M.T. Power 163. The ring is visible s^s an 



