218 SATURN. 



crape, ring was seen by me very clearly during the last opposition, 

 and it certainly extended from the inner edge of the " B " ring 

 nearly, if not quite, half-way toward the ball. It is considered that 

 this ring is tending inwards, and that the small bodies that probably 

 belong to it are falling down into Saturn's atmosphere, appearing 

 in it somewhat similar to shooting stars, or meteors, that plunge 

 into our atmosphere, and that their places are being taken by 

 members from the nearest parts of the next ring. The present 

 appearance of this marvellous ring is that of an exquisitely delicate 

 piece of gauze-like, golden, and dark purple material, so slender 

 as to baffle a fair description of it. 



This mysterious ring was first seen by the astronomers of the 

 Roman Observatory in 1828, but they did not report it at the time. 

 Dr. Galle, of Berlin, in 1838, saw it, and measured it for the first 

 time, but his observations were carelessly shelved in the Berlin 

 Observatory. It was left to Professor G. P. Bond, in 1850, to 

 rediscover this curiously interesting structure, and to announce it 

 to the world ; while ]\Ir. Dawes independently detected it eighteen 

 days later, in ignorance of Bond's discovery, the announcement of 

 which had not then reached England. Close observations of this 

 "C" ring have continued since 1850, and it has been found to 

 vary in its aspects and inner outline, as well as its changing angu- 

 lar position. 



The thickness, or comparative thinness, of the rings as a whole 

 is estimated at considerably under one hundred miles, probably 

 less than one-half that, but the " B " ring is thought to be thicker 

 than the outer or "A" ring, because of the convexity of the shadow 

 said to have been seen cast by the ball on the rings. This shadow 

 is also said to have been seen concave after opposition ! Such a 

 variation suggests refraction of light as the probable causes of dif- 

 ference. If Saturn shone by inherent heat, and the rings reflected 

 his light only, then they would be lit up all around right up to the 

 ball on either side, and no shadow at all would be seen, as is 

 always the case now, both before and after opposition ; thus prov- 

 ing that the whole system shines by reflected sunlight. 



Saturn has eight attendant moons that may be compared with 

 the sun's eight attendant primary planets. It is strange that the 

 main outline of the solar system should be repeated within itself 



