1 86 HERSCHEL AND HIS WORK 



groove or division of the ring," while it ceases to be a 

 fanciful, becomes also an unnecessary conception. 



Such are the main features of the romance of Saturn 

 since Herschel began his study of it one hundred and 

 twenty-five years ago. In the hundred and twenty- 

 five years that preceded, there had also been mystery 

 and romance about the planet and his ring. All the 

 riddles presented by this system have not been yet 

 read, and it is likely that, when improvements in tele- 

 scopes or observation enable man to read the riddles 

 that face him to-day, they will raise new riddles and 

 give birth to other romances for the amazement or 

 delight of future ages. On one point science is still in 

 doubt. Does the fifth satellite of Saturn, like our 

 moon, always show the same face to the planet, or, in 

 other words, turn on its axis in the same time that it 

 takes to revolve round him ? Herschel believed he 

 had proved, or almost proved, that it " turns once on 

 its axis, exactly in the time it performs one revolution 

 round its primary planet." 



It was only fitting that the discoverer of Uranus 

 should pay special attention to that planet : but five or 

 six years elapsed before his patient watchfulness was 

 crowned with any success. Unlike Jupiter and Saturn, 

 the light of Uranus is very faint. He does not invite 

 pursuit ; he flies from it into darkness : and the light 

 of his moons is fainter still. Herschel suspected, per- 

 haps hoped, that if he searched for satellites he would 

 find them. And so he did. On January 11, 1787, he 

 saw " some very faint stars " near the planet, " whose 

 places he noted down with great care." Next evening 

 two of them were missing. As the haziness, that was 

 about, might have caused their disappearance, he noted 



