DISCOVERY OF A NEW RING TO SATURN. 113 



received. The dark ring was perceived, although, its 

 nature was not comprehended. 



The preceding observations naturally suggest the in- 

 quiry, whether this newly-discovered ring is one of 

 recent formation, or has it existed from time immemorial ? 

 Sir William Herschel diligently observed this planet; 

 yet only on four occasions did he notice any thing re- 

 markable in the interior portion of the ring beyond 

 a slight shading off, which, is represented in one of his 

 figures of the planet, but is not thought worthy of 

 particular description. 



Professor Struve remarks (Memoirs of the Astronomical 

 Society, vol. 2), " the inner ring toward the planet seems 

 less distinctly limited, and to grow fainter, so that I am 

 inclined to think that the inner edge is less regular than 

 the others." Neither did Sir J. Herschel at the Cape 

 of Good Hope notice any thing like the present appear- 

 ances, though Saturn was nearly in the zenith, and the 

 climate so favorable. 



In a paper published in the Memoirs of the Academy 

 of Sciences of St Petersburg, M. Otto Struve attempts to 

 show that the observations of various astronomers an- 

 terior to the year 1838, afford unequivocal indications of 

 the existence of the obscure ring. He remarks that the 

 early astronomers generally make mention of a dark belt, 

 (termed the equatorial belt) which was seen passing 

 across the body of the planet, immediately contiguous to 

 the inner edge of the interior bright ring. J. Cassini 

 showed in 1715 that from its slight curvature the equa- 



