^i FIOUUK OF THE FLANET SATURN, 



ring from the body, in that part where it crofres the difli, by 

 means of the difference in the colour of the refle6led light. I 

 f^w the quintuple bell, and the flattening of the body at the 

 polar regions; I could alfo perceive the vacant fpace between 

 the two rings. 

 Obfervations on The flattening of the polar regions is not in that gradual 

 Saturn bv which ij^jjj^Pg^ jjl jupjier, it feems not to begin till at a high 



its fingular , . , , , ^ r . , i • • it 



figure is afcir- 'latitude, and there to be more ludden than it is towards the 

 tained. poles of Jupiter. I have often made the fame obfervation 



before, but do not remember to have recorded it any where* 

 April 1 S ; ten-feet refledtor, power 300. The air is very 

 favourable, and I fee llie planet extremely well defined. The 

 Ihadow of the ring is very black in its extent over the difk 

 fonth of the ring, where I fee it all tl?e way with great dif- 

 tinftnefs. 



The ufual belts are on the body of Saturn ; they cover a 

 much larger zone than the belts on Jupiter generally take up, 

 as may be feen in the figure I have given in Plate I. ; and alfo 

 in a former reprefentation of the fame belts in ITOi.* 



The figure of the body of Saturn, as 1 fee it at prefent, is 

 certainly difl'erent from the fpheroidical figure of Jupiter. The 

 curvature is greateft in a high latitude. 



I took a meafure of the fituation of the four points of the 

 greateft curvature, with my angular micrometer, and power 

 527, When the crofs of the micrometer palfed through all 

 the four points, the angle which gives the double latitude of 

 two of the points, one being north the other foulh of the ring, 

 or equator, was 93° 16'. The latitude therefore of the four 

 points is 'Ka*-' 38' ; it is there the greateft curvature takes place. 

 As neither of the crofs wires can be in the parallel, it makes 

 the meafure fo difficult to take, that very great accuracy can- 

 not be expected. 



Tiie moti northern belt comes up to the place where the 

 ring of Saturn patfes behind the body, but the belt is bent in a 

 contrary direQion being concave to the north, on account of 

 its croflTing the body on the fide turned towards us, and the 

 nortii pole being in view. 



There is a vary dark, but narrow thadow of the body upon 

 the following part of the ring, which as it were cuts oflT the 

 ring from the body. 



* See Phil. Tranf. iot 1794, Table VI. page 32. 



The 



