38 HISTORY OF ASTRONOMY. 



do not entirely deny the possible existence of a ring, we 

 must at least hold our minds in suspense, and wait 

 patiently for further evidence. It is possible that this 

 question may not be fully cleared up until some more 

 powerful telescope is turned upon the planet, or it can 

 be seen in a different part of its orbit. 



Neptune is attended by at least one satellite. Mr. Las- 

 sell states that on the 10th of October, 1846, he observed 

 a faint star, distant from the planet about three diam- 

 eters. On the llth and 30th of November, and also 

 December 3d, he saw a small star having about the same 

 appearance ; and he considered it probable that the star 

 was a satellite. On the 7th of July, 1847, he again saw 

 the supposed satellite, and on the following evening the 

 planet and satellite had both changed their position with 

 reference to the neighboring stars. On the 22d, 25th, 

 and 26th of the same month, the planet appeared, at- 

 tended by a satellite ; and on the 1st of August he ob- 

 tained the fullest evidence of the verity of the satellite, 

 in being able clearly to ascertain, that during the two 

 hours he watched the planet, it had carried the satellite 

 along with it in its orbital motion. On the 20th of Sep- 

 tember, 1847, Mr. Lassell announced that during the 

 current year he had obtained twenty observations of the 

 satellite, and from them all he concluded that its time 

 of revolution was five days, twenty hours, and fifty 

 minutes. Mr. Bond, at Cambridge, during the years 

 1847 and 1848, obtained repeated measures of the dis- 

 tance and angle of position of this satellite by means 



