Litchfield enquirer., 1839-08-01
THE sp1 ENDoR OF orneR WORLDS.

| Those who feel moral elevation in con tcmplating the magnificent displays of tn, Creator in the visible heavens, should avai themselves of the present period for ma king telescopic observations on few o those planets which are now within tll' ken of human view. 68 ste
 Several years will elspse before Saturr will be seen again, and as may now be seen, in all the splendor and beauty of chan'sm. Before particularly explaining the pecnIIarity of the aspect under which that el"riously constructed world is at pres- ent presented, (and will continue all the latter part of August let US consider the calculations and admeasuremen.s of mod ern astronomers, with regard to it's dimen- sIons,-which are in the highest degree cu- rious. Saturn is 10000 English miles in diameter, and consequently 1000 times larger than our globe. Its surface con- iains 19,OOO, ,0OO,O square n,iles---and if its capacity for supporting animal life, cor- responds to the capacity of the earth, (which cannot be doubted,) and we allow 28O inhabitants to the square mile, it would conveniently sustain an entire pop ula,ion of 5, ,4SS, ,OOO, ,OoO, ,00O. Encircling this enormous body of matter, there are two horizontal rings, one outside of the other. A late Italian philosopher asserts that he has discovered three more. The two certainly exist, and arc so plainly seen. and have been so repeatedly meas ured by different astronomers, in all civic fixed countries, that there is no room for questioning their calculations. The breadth of the inner ring is 10000 miles, from the inner edge to the outer; and the space between the periphery and the in-i ner edge of the exterior ring, is 2S3o miles. The outer diameter of the outer ring, is 3O4,8OO, and its inner diameter, is 19O, 200 English miles. Dr. Herschel was of the opinion that neither oftLem exceed ed 100 miles in thickness--another point to be settled by future astronomers. Last ly, the breadth fboth rings, including the space between them, is about equal to the width of the opening between the body of the planet and the margin of the inner ring! Neither of them are exactly circular. but on the contrary, eccentric--and reyolye abont their primary with extreme velocity, in tcn hours and half. Every point of the outer surface of the outer ring, there- l fore, travels at the rate of thousand miles a minute, or 17 miles during the swing of pendulum of clock to make one single beat.
 In the whole field of vision allowed to man, there IS not a more striking exhi- bition of mechanism than these luminous appendages of Saturn-which were drop ped over the planet, as it were. and at the same instant motion was given them that never has varied, probably. from that pe- riod. the millionth part of a second in conn pleting revolution. If such a variation were to occur, in process of time 1t wonld produce a fatal Arrangement in the whole solar system.
 On the 29th of the present month, Sat- urn will be in opposition to the sun, and then will rise in the southeast at 45 min utes past seven in the evening. At mid- night it will pass the meridian, at an alti- l tude of eighteen degrees and half above the Southern point of the horizon. About the last of October, it will become wholly invisible, till the first of 1S4O. Those who have never yet seen this glorious sight, should by all means avail themselves of the very first opportunity to look, through a telescope. The planet, from the 29th of the present month. through. the sUmmer. may be seen in the center of the rings, which will not occur again till the year l 1S47. In the course of an hours examl- nation, it is by no means uncommon to l have a distinct and beautiful view ofseve- ral of the moons belonging to Saturn, also. For the sake of refreshing the minds oi those who may be induced by these remarks l to watch the stars few pleasant evenings, l for treat that cannot be repeated again 1 for several years,-it should be recollect- ed that Saturn is m;Me Hundred and sig millions of miles from the, sun, and mereo- yer. it takes tUenty-aine gears and ssI uonths for it to complete a revelation. A steam carriage, moving at the rato of 20 l miles an hour, would be 32, 500 years in performing tho journey. A cannon ball moving foe Hundred miles Gr -four, would be 1900 years in trayersing thetsanie orbit. Should this paper have the inteDded ef- feet of stimulating the curious to improve the present suspicious season for telescopic scenery in inc sky, in acity which abounds with powerful instruments, expressly de- siynei for a celestial field-otlIer objects, equally worthy and marvellous, will be pointed out, on which the glass might be brought so bear. with equal wonder and satisfaction to the spectator. B0stOE Joar. INsEcTIvoR0Us BIRDS.
 l MR. FEsssNDEN-These are to the far mer and gardener of great value. They were designed by thc Creator to check the foo great increase of insects sud no far mcr ought to suffer them io be wanionly destroyed on his premises. The numbe' of insects destroyed by the robin; swallow, sparrow; mock bird, and other small birds is astonishing. OUe TittlS family will de- | M. -.....sl h,,ndrads in a ainnlA daH.-