Saturn's Ring. — Double Stars. — Occultations. 431 



SATURN'S RING.— DOUBLE STARS.— 

 OCCULTATIONS. 



BY THE EEV. T. \V. WEBB, E.E.A.S. 



SATUEN'S EING. 



Oue evening; skies are losing; much of their attraction in the 

 departure of Jupiter and Saturn into the strong twilight, where 

 it will be scarcely worth while to follow them. The globe of 

 the latter is still bisected by the line of the dark side of the 

 ring, the breadth of which * will rapidly diminish during the 

 month, as the earth's annual movement carries us nearer to its 

 plane, till, on July 28th, it will amount only to 0".085, prepara- 

 tory to its entire disappearance edgeways on August 12th, 

 after which time the N. side comes permanently into view for 

 15 years. We intend, shortly, to give some account of the 

 very interesting transits of the shadow of the 6th satellite 

 which have been recently observed : unfortunately its approach 

 to the sun will now put this phenomenon beyond the reach of 

 any but the most powerful instruments. Mr. Dawes has de- 

 tected with his SJ-inch object-glass a "very faint gleam of 

 coppery light" in the place of the ansee, as in 1848 ; but he has 

 been surprised at the non-appearance of the shadow of the ring, 

 an additional proof of its ' ' almost inconceivable thinness," or 

 of its possessing an atmosphere sufficient to convert its shadow 

 into a mere penumbra. As the sun is, however, now rising higher 

 above its N. side, he says (May 22) that in a few weeks it will 

 probably become distinctly visible as a black line S. of the 

 projected ring, and he calls upon the possessors of powerful 

 instruments to watch the time of its first appearance. 



DOUBLE STAES. 



We proceed with our list of such of these objects as will not 

 bear delay, unless we can resolve to rise long before the dawn 

 in the early spring. Our first is a' very remarkable star : — 



11. a Scorpii. Antares : supposed to be so named as equi- 

 valent in colour to Ares, the Greek name of Mars. Scorpio 

 will be easily identified as a fine group of tolerably bright stars 

 near the S. horizon, which, on account of its low elevation, 

 should be examined as soon as the twilight will admit of it. 

 The most conspicuous amongst these is Antares, both in re- 

 spect of its magnitude and its colour, being the reddest of all 

 the larger stars in the heavens. Smyth calls it fiery red. With 



* This breadth was given mucli too large in the Intellectual Observer for 

 May, the whole minor axis (= 2"'(M) having been inadvertently substituted for 

 the part visible in front of the ball. 



