"Remarks on Saturn. 143 



peculiar hue less evident — an effect which I have noticed in 

 other deeply- coloured stars ; but the surrounding" rays are of 

 a decided crimson cast. It is very much to be regretted that 

 though it is rated by Knott as 7'3 mag., and consequently 

 rather larger than the generality of such objects, it must be 

 far below any full or satisfactory spectrum analysis. Perhaps 

 some future time it may by reached with an aperture such as 

 those of Lassell or Lord Rosse : and we may then expect some 

 strange, though not improbably unintelligible,, revelation as to 

 its constitution. We cannot picture to ourselves the state of 

 affairs consequent upon our being brought under the influence 

 of a crimson sun ; but we may conjecture that its effect upon 

 a planetary system, if such surrounds it, must involve a very 

 different constitution of things from anything within our solar 

 bounds. 



The star is readily visible, though of course not its hue, in 

 a finder of little more than one-inch aperture. It seems re- 

 markable that it should not be included in the list of Ruby Stars 

 given by Sir John Herschel as an appendix to his Cape Obser- 

 vations, especially as the majority of his objects are of smaller 

 magnitude. 



REMARKS ON" SATURN. 



BY EICHAED A. PEOCTOE. 



Me. Riceaed A. Peoctoe, of Stoke, Devon, author of Saturn 

 and its System, reviewed in our last number, sends us the 

 following : — 



11 Will you permit me to discuss, briefly, one or two 

 remarks in your notice of my little work on Saturn ? I wish 

 to examine — first, the supposition that Saturn's rings may be 

 vaporous; secondly, the opinion that the satellite theory is 

 inadmissible in the case of the dark ring. Before doing so, 

 however, let me observe, in answer to your remark that you 

 ' would have been altogether better pleased with a fuller sys- 

 tem of reference to original authorities/ that (excepting, of 

 course, much that may be considered common property) I can 

 conscientiously claim as my own every sentence, opinion, or 

 calculation in Saturn which is not distinctly referred to an 

 authority. 



" The hypothesis that the rings are vaporous, may, I think, 

 be very easily overthrown. Bessel calculated the weight of 

 the rings to be Tih-th P a1 ^ °f Saturn's weight. The volume of 



