THE UNIVERSE. DISCOVERIES IN THE CELESTIAL SPACES. 319 



occasional entire disappearance. But the merit of having 

 explained scientifically all the phsenomena of the ring of 

 Saturn taken as one, belongs to Huygens (1655), who, accord- 

 ing to the mistrustful manner of the time, and like Galileo, 

 concealed his discovery in an anagram, consisting in this 

 case of 88 letters. It was Dominic Cassini who first saw 

 the black stripes in the ring (1684), and recognised its 

 division into at least two concentric rings. I have here 

 brought together the information, gained in the course of a 

 century, respecting the most wonderful and least anticipated 

 of all the forms of celestial bodies with which we are yet 

 acquainted ; a form which has led to ingenious conjectures 

 respecting the original mode of formation of the planets 

 and satellites. 



The spots on the sun were first observed through tele- 

 scopes by John Fabricius of East Friesland, and by 

 Galileo either at Padua or at Yenice. In the publication 

 of the discovery, Pabricius (June, 1611) was certainly a 

 year in advance of Galileo (first letter to the burgomaster 

 Marcus Welser, May 4, 1612.) The first observations of 

 Fabricius appear, by Arago's careful researches, ( 489 ) to have 

 been made in March 1611, or, according to Sir David 

 Brewster, even at the close of the preceding year ; while 

 Christopher Scheiner does not himself refer his observa- 

 tions to an earlier period than April 1611, and probably 

 did not begin to occupy himself in earnest with the solar 

 spots until the month of October of the same year. Re- 

 specting Galileo we have only obscure and discordant 

 information. He was acquainted with the solar spots in. 

 April 1611, for he shewed them publicly at Rome, in the 

 garden of the Cardinal Bandini OP the Quirinal, in April 



