Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1877-02-21
The Rings of Saturn.

Ii is clear that all the peculiarities
hitherto observed in the Saturnian ring
system are explicable so soon as we re-
gard that system as made up of multi
tudes of small bodies. Varieties of
brightness simply indicate various de-
grees of condensation of these small
satellites. Thus the outer ring had
long been observed TO be less bright
than the inner. OF course it did not
seem impossible that the outer ring
might be made of different materials
vet there was something bizarre in the
supposition that two rings forming the
same system were thus different in sub
stance. 1t would not have been at all
noteworthy if different parties of the
same ring differed in luminosity-in
fact, it was much more remarkable that
each zone of the system seemed uni
fOrmly bright all round. But that one
zone should be of one tint, another of
an entirely different tint, was a strange
circumstance so long as the only availa-
bic Interpretation seemed TO be that
one zone was made (throughout) of one
substance, the other of another. If this
was strange when the difference be-
tween the inner and the outer bright
rings was alone considered, how much
stronger it did seem when the multi
tudinous divisions in the rings were
II IL ~
ring system, $4,000 miles in width, be
thus divided into zones of different ma
terial? An arrange ment so artificial is
quite unlike all that is elsewhere seen
among the subjects of the astronomer s
researches. But when the rings are re-
garded as made up of multitudes OF
small bodies, we can quite readily un-
derstand how the early circular move
ments of all Of these, at different rates,
should result in the formation of rings
of aggregation and rings ofsegregation,
appearing at the earth's distance as
Bright rings and faint rings. The
dark ring clearly corresponds in ap-
pearance with a ring Of clearly scat
tered satellites. Indeed, il seems i'm
possible otherwise to account for the ap-
pearance of dusky belt across the
globe of the planet where the dark ring
crosses the disk. If the material of the
dark ring were some partly transparent
solid or fluid substance, the light of the
planet received through the dark ring,
added to the light reflected by the dark
ring itself, would be so nearly equiva-
lent to the light received from the rest
of the planets disk, that either no dark
belt would be seen. or the darkening
would be barely discernible. In some
positions bright belt would be seen,
not dark one. But ring of scattered
satellites would cast as its shadow a
multitude of black spots, which would
give to the belt in shadow dark gray
aspect. A considerable proportion of
these spots would be hidden by the sat
elites forming the dark ring, and in
every case where a spot was wholly or
partially hidden by satellite, the eff
feet (at our distant stations where the
different satellites of the dark rings are
not discernible) would simply be to
reduce pro tdnto the darkness of the
gray belt of shadow. But certainly
more than half the shadow of the satel-
lites would remain in sight, for the
darkness of the ring at the time of its
discovery showed that the satellites
were very sparsely strewn. And these
shadows would be sufficient to give to
the belt dusky hue, such as it pre-
sented when first discoyered.-Fraser's
NggG-fgs