246 FIGURE OF SATURN". 



refearches refpeding animal matter, will not enllghtfen ttite 

 phyfician on the nature of difeafes, and the means of curing 

 them. 



XV. 



liemarh relative to Dr. Herschel's Figure of Saturn. 

 By An Observer. 



Oi 



To Mr. NICHOLSON. 

 SIR, 



Singular circura-\\^N reading in your Journal, Obfervations on the lingular 

 Herfchel's figure ^'S"'^^ of the Planet Saturn, by Dr. Herfchel, from the Phi- 

 of Saturn had iofophical Tranfadions ; when I faw (he engraving of the 

 dbfervecT. '""^^ ^gu'^. a* defcribed by the Doctor, refembling a parallelo- 

 gram, one fide whereof is the equatorial and the other the 

 polar diameter, with the four corners rounded otf, fo as to 

 leave both the equatorial and polar regions flatter than they 

 would be in a regular fpheroidical figure ; I was furprifed to 

 find, on enquiry, that fo remarkable a figure had not been no- 

 ticed before by other aftronomers, whofe jLelefcopes were fup- 

 pofed to define objects very correflly, with powers confider- 

 ably exceeding 160 times, by which power the Do6tor could 

 difiinguifii Saturn from the fpheroidical figure of Jupiter. 

 Former obf.of In the year 1776, the Do6lor relates he perceived the body 



the Doftor did of Saturn was not exadly round, and in 1781, thai it was flat- 

 Bot Ihcw It, , , , , -^ ^ , , . , 



tened at the poles, at leaft as much as Jupiter. In J 7 89, the 



Do6lor being then prepolTefled with its being fpheroidical, he 

 meafured the equatorial and polar diameters, and fuppofed 

 there could be no other particularity to remark in the figure of 

 the planet. 



It is evident, from the Dolor's former obfervations of Sa* 



turn and Jupiter, that the vifible difference in their figures 



was not, before laft year, obferved fo difiin<5tiy, owing to the 



fuperior excellence of his 10-feet telefcope of two feet aperr 



ture, but that, when obferved, he afterwards found the other 



telefcopes gave a fimilar difparity. 



Q^ whether As the figures given by former aftronomers, and even by 



cfptTonTn"the'*' ^^^ ^^"^^ himfelf, of both Jupiter and Saturn, were fpheroi- 



itlcfcopes. dalj 



