Omaha daily bee., 1896-05-17

- CIV III Mann
Copyright. 1896. by $. S. Mcclure Company)
A memorable astronomical discovery was
made in the year 1910. Calico had just
perfected that wonderful telescope which for
the first time enabled man to view the heav-
ems under more advantageous circumstances
than those which the mere optical apparatus
provided by nature afforded him. Calico
discovered by the help of his new instru-
ment that the object which had been known
from time immemorial by the name of
Saturn was not a mere globe like the sun or
the .moon, Jupiter or Venus. What Calico
saw, or at all events thought he saw, was
that this particular planet consisted of a
large central globe, accompanied by two
other smaller globes, one on each side. To
use his own expression In announcing his
discovery, he had seen Saturn three-fold."
In the course of the movement Of the planet
ishment OF Calico, these two appended
globes diappeared. Can 1t be- asked the
great philosopher, that Saturn has de-
voured his children"
For forty-ive years the nature Of the ex-
traordinary appendages to Saturn, which
We're sometimes visible and sometimes inyisi-
BILE. presented an enigma to astronomers.
Huyghens, however, in 1868. by a combina-
tion OF acute observation and ingenious rea-
soDing. demonstrated that the phenomena In
question could only be produced by a ring
which, though completely detached from
Saturn, revolyed round the great central
globe. Nearly two centuries and a half
have elapsed since the Saturnian mystery
was thus happily explained, and each sue
ceeding generation Of astronomers has done
its beet to explain more fnlly. the marvel
Gus features Of this hinged system. The
stream of discovery has thus flowed on
wards continually. Indeed a very important
has been made only quite recently. In Illus
tration Of the ultimate texture OF the ring.
After the achievement OF Huyghens the
next great advance In our knowledge or the
Saturniau system is due TO j. II. ID. Cassinl,
who discovered the now well known dark
line Of division which marks the ring into
TWO regions, namely. the inner ring, and the
outer ring. The existence of this important
feature was announced In 1915. No doubt II
IL now entertained that this dark line Is not
merely "a mark, but that II is a yeritable
separation of the ring into two distinct p0r-
lions. 10 to the present, however. 1t does
not seem to have been quite demonstrated
that II is possible to see clearly through the
line OF Cassini. There would be only one
really satisfactory method OF testing the
question as to the dark mark being actually
a void space, but the opportunity for putting
this test into practice does not as yet appear
10 have risen. AS Saturn moves across the
heavens II must occasionally pass between
the earth and certain OF tbs fixed stars.
IL II should 30 happen that the planet passed
over a sufficiently bright star. II would be ex-
tremely interesting to observe whether tie
star could be dlscerned through the dark
line. II that line were really an actual open,
ing, a. we have good reason to believe. the
star should be se0u shining With lndimin-
brilliance through the narrow aperture.
Besides this division so well known TO
every observer. there In another much
line which marks the outer ring into