CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. Qf 



or B ring was toned faintly down towards the planet as if 

 exhibiting some of the gauzy ring, but the characters of the 

 two were distinct. There were six satellites visible. But 

 one of the best revealed features of this spectacle was the 

 undoubted difference in brightness of the gauzy ring at the 

 two ansse. The preceding part was decidedly brighter than 

 the following. Different eye-pieces and different powers were 

 used, but this peculiarity remained. Mr. R. A. Marr noted 

 it under all the circumstances in which I examined it. I 

 have no doubt whatever of the matter. This phenomenon 

 may have been described before, but I have no remem- 

 brance of it. I thought also that the inner edge of the gauzy 

 ring was more than half way from the inner edge of the Bring 

 to the body of the planet; but under examinations with differ- 

 ent powers and eye-pieces, I had some doubts. I made no 

 measures. 



Another feature was the apparent deeper shading of the 

 preceding side of the planet: it was only a very little differ- 

 ence, but I was satisfied that it really existed. 



I should mention that in my limited experience in examin- 

 ing Saturn I have never seen the atmospheric conditions so 

 nearly perfect as they were that night. It was an excep- 

 tional instance in very many years. In this one case I saw 

 more than is given in the beautiful Cambridge drawing, ex- 

 cept thpt I could not make out the mottlings in the short 

 curves of the rings. 



ANNULAR SOLAR ECLIPSE, OCTOBER 30, 1883. 



It is probable that this is the only observation of precision 

 of this eclipse made on the Continent of North America, or 

 throughout the Pacific. It was annular through the 

 Pacific Ocean, but partial at San Francisco. 



The predicted time of the first contact of the moon's limb 

 4 



