﻿1 
  80 
  Transaciiovs. 
  — 
  Miscellaneous. 
  

  

  clearly 
  not 
  admissible 
  in 
  sncli 
  a 
  case 
  as 
  I 
  liave 
  suggested, 
  and 
  the 
  relative 
  

   positions 
  of 
  the 
  planets 
  would 
  influence 
  the 
  second. 
  Or 
  if 
  this 
  he 
  con- 
  

   sidered 
  to 
  be 
  insufficient, 
  it 
  is 
  only 
  necessary 
  to 
  assume 
  that 
  the 
  destruction 
  

   took 
  place 
  before 
  the 
  whole 
  of 
  the 
  gas 
  had 
  been 
  absorbed 
  by 
  the 
  sun. 
  

   Altogether, 
  I 
  think 
  from 
  the 
  great 
  eccentricity 
  of 
  the 
  orbits 
  of 
  these 
  bodies, 
  

   from 
  their 
  positions, 
  from 
  the 
  varying 
  inclinations 
  of 
  the 
  planes 
  of 
  their 
  

   several 
  ecliptics, 
  from 
  their 
  varying 
  intensity, 
  and 
  their 
  small 
  size, 
  the 
  only 
  

   conceivable 
  explanation 
  of 
  their 
  formation 
  is 
  by 
  a 
  violent 
  explosion. 
  This 
  

   would 
  account 
  for 
  all 
  tlieu' 
  peculiarities. 
  I 
  am 
  unacquainted 
  with 
  any 
  force 
  

   in 
  nature 
  that 
  could 
  produce 
  such 
  an 
  explosion 
  except 
  the 
  one 
  here 
  

  

  Saturn's 
  Fdngs, 
  

  

  It 
  would 
  appear 
  also 
  that 
  the 
  rings 
  of 
  Saturn 
  cannot 
  be 
  considered 
  to 
  be 
  

   a 
  primary 
  phenomenon 
  ; 
  they 
  may 
  have 
  been 
  developed 
  by 
  the 
  blowing 
  to 
  

   pieces 
  of 
  a 
  moon, 
  or 
  by 
  Saturn's 
  atmosphere 
  entrapping 
  a 
  train 
  of 
  meteors. 
  

   This 
  latter 
  suggestion 
  hardly 
  appears 
  so 
  reasonable 
  as 
  the 
  former. 
  If 
  the 
  

   destroyed 
  moon 
  was 
  brought 
  to 
  a 
  very 
  high 
  temperature, 
  mere 
  liquid 
  sx^ray 
  

   might 
  have 
  been 
  produced, 
  which 
  would 
  quickly 
  cool 
  and 
  become 
  a 
  mass 
  of 
  

   solid 
  particles 
  revolving 
  around 
  in 
  all 
  eccentricities. 
  

  

  Comets 
  and 
  Meteors. 
  

   It 
  is 
  a 
  necessity 
  of 
  this 
  hypothesis 
  that 
  there 
  should 
  be 
  large 
  numbers 
  

   of 
  bodies 
  travelling 
  in 
  space. 
  Groups 
  of 
  these 
  bodies 
  may 
  frequently 
  have 
  

   a 
  common 
  direction. 
  Of 
  these 
  bodies 
  it 
  is 
  probable 
  that 
  some 
  may 
  be 
  very 
  

   large, 
  and 
  even 
  come 
  within 
  the 
  solar 
  system, 
  yet 
  remain 
  invisible 
  except 
  

   as 
  meteors. 
  But 
  it 
  is 
  conceivable 
  that 
  in 
  some 
  cases 
  of 
  collision 
  bodies 
  may 
  

   leave, 
  consisting 
  chiefly 
  of 
  carbonic 
  acid 
  ; 
  which 
  at 
  certain 
  stages 
  of 
  a 
  body's 
  

   heat, 
  may 
  form 
  an 
  important 
  part 
  of 
  its 
  atmosphere. 
  It 
  is 
  not 
  difficult 
  to 
  

   imagine 
  that 
  a 
  portion 
  of 
  the 
  atmosphere 
  of 
  such 
  a 
  body 
  may 
  have 
  taken 
  a 
  

   common 
  direction 
  in 
  space, 
  and 
  in 
  its 
  path 
  become 
  attracted 
  by 
  our 
  system. 
  

   If 
  its 
  nucleus, 
  when 
  near 
  the 
  sun, 
  were 
  volatilized 
  carbon, 
  and 
  its 
  atmosphere 
  

   carbonic 
  acid, 
  the 
  result 
  of 
  the 
  sun's 
  radiation 
  on 
  such 
  an 
  athermic 
  sub- 
  

   stance 
  as 
  carbonic 
  acid 
  might 
  certainly 
  decompose 
  it. 
  Might 
  it 
  not 
  be 
  the 
  

   case 
  that 
  the 
  temperature 
  of 
  dissociation 
  of 
  carbonic 
  acid 
  may 
  be 
  lower 
  

   than 
  the 
  temperature 
  of 
  the 
  volatilization 
  of 
  carbon 
  ? 
  There 
  are 
  certain 
  

   peculiarities 
  in 
  the 
  electric 
  light 
  supporting 
  this. 
  Thus 
  the 
  carbon 
  might 
  

   be 
  liberated 
  as 
  a 
  sublimate 
  away 
  from 
  the 
  sun, 
  but 
  in 
  the 
  direction 
  towards 
  

   the 
  sun, 
  the 
  temperature 
  may 
  be 
  sufficiently 
  high 
  to 
  volatilize 
  the 
  carbon. 
  

   This, 
  or 
  some 
  other 
  radiation 
  theory, 
  as 
  Tyndall 
  has 
  suggested, 
  seems 
  the 
  

   only 
  one 
  possible 
  to 
  explain 
  the 
  stupendous 
  .velocity 
  of 
  the 
  growth 
  of 
  the 
  

   tails, 
  amounting 
  in 
  some 
  cases 
  to 
  as 
  much 
  as 
  5,000 
  miles 
  a 
  second, 
  a 
  velocity 
  

   which 
  the 
  energy 
  of 
  the 
  sun 
  would 
  be 
  incompetent 
  to 
  give 
  to 
  matter, 
  Again, 
  

  

  