276 THE NEBULAE HYPOTHESIS. 



will be cquul to three times that of the second ; &quot; and 

 &quot; from this it results that the situations of any t\vo of them 

 being given, that of the third cau be found.&quot; Now here, :ia 

 before, no conceivable advantage results. Neither in thin 

 case can the connexion have been accidental : the probabil 

 ities arc infinity to one to the contrary. But again, accord 

 ing to Laplace, the Nebular Hypothesis supplies a solution. 

 Are not these significant facts ? 



Most significant fact of all, however, is that presented 

 by the rings of Saturn. As Laplace remarks, they are, as 

 it were, still extant witnesses of the genetic process lie 

 propounded. Here we have, continuing permanently, 

 forms of matter like those through which each planet and 

 satellite once passed ; and their movements arc just what, 

 in conformity with the hypothesis, they should be. &quot; La 

 duree do la rotation d une planetc doit done etre, d apres 

 cettc hypothcse, plus petite quo la duree de la revolution 

 du corps le plus voisin qui circule autour d elle,&quot; says La 

 place.* And he then points out that the time of Saturn s 

 rotation is to that of his rings as 427 to 438 an amount 

 of difference such as was to be expected. 



But besides the existence of these rings, and their 

 movements in the required manner, there is a highly sug 

 gestive circumstance which Laplace has not remarked 

 namely, the place of their occurrence. If the Solar Sys 

 tern was produced alter the manner popularly supposed, 

 then there is no reason why the rings of Saturn should not 

 have encircled him at a comparatively great distance. Or, 

 instead of being given to Saturn, who ia their absence 

 would still have had eight satellites, such rings might have 

 been given to Mars, by way of compensation for a moon. 

 Or they might have been given to Uranus, who, for pur 

 poses of illumination, has far greater need of them. On 

 the common hypothesis, we repeat, no reason can be as- 



* &quot; Mecauiquc Celeste,&quot; p. 346. 



