THE PLANET SATURN.

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crossed the planet, by Dr. Galle of Berlin, who then publishedhis observations and measurements, although he failed todetect its real character.* We hope that many importantobservations of it may he made during the next few years.

It may easily he understood that it is when the ringsappear to he opened out to their widest (as will he the case in1885), or near to such epochs, that the best opportunities areobtained for the observation of their various divisions and theircomparative brightness, or for the study of their individualpeculiarities of surface and condition. And in this connectionit may be well to mention that in 1885 Saturn will have alarge northern declination, which will raise it especially highabove the horizon in latitudes such as our own; while inOctober of that same year it will pass through its Perihelion,or nearest approach to the Sun, two months after which it willbe in Opposition to the Sun. From the joint effect of all thesecauses, it will consequently be unusually well situated for ourobservation.

It was under somewhat similar circumstances that Mr. DeLa Rue’s drawing (see Fig . LXXXII., p. 358) was made. Ourreaders may therefore he glad to refer to it once more, and tonotice in it several very interesting features of the ring-system,in addition to those hitherto mentioned, which have also beenconfirmed by various other eminent observers. For instance,the outer edge of the ring b, is decidedly the brightest part ofall. There is also shown a distinct, but very delicate, divisionin the middle of the width of the ring a, which at times maybe detected all round it. Indeed, we may remark that occasion-ally, in the portions seen furthest from the planet, or as itis technically expressed, near to the extremities of the ansce,not only is a certain amount of shading often visible upon thering-surface, as in the figure, but indications are seen of nume-rous divisions, so that it is impossible to decide into how many

* The Bev. T. W. Webb also mentions (“ Celestial Objects, ” 4thEdition, p. 179) that an old assistant in the Observatory at Borneinformed the late Father Secchi, that it had been noticed even so earlyas in 1848, although no further attention was paid to it.

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