oncentric rings, of which
the innermost, dark though transparent, is 9,625 miles in breadth; the
intermediate one, which is brighter than the planet itself, being 17,605
miles broad; and the outer, of a dusky hue, being 8,660 miles broad.

Such, they read, is the general outline of this strange appendage, which
revolves in its own plane in 10 hours 32 minutes. Of what matter it
is composed, and how it resists disintegration, is still an unsettled
question; but it might almost seem that the Designer of the universe, in
permitting its existence, had been willing to impart to His intelligent
creatures the manner in which celestial bodies are evolved, and that
this remarkable ring-system is a remnant of the nebula from which Saturn
was himself developed, and which, from some unknown cause, has become
solidified. If at any time it should disperse, it would either fall
into fragments upon the surface of Saturn, or the fragments, mutually
coalescing, would form additional satellites to circle round the planet
in its path.

To any observer stationed on the planet, between the extremes of lat.
45 degrees on either side of the equator, these wonderful rings would
present various strange phenomena. Sometimes they would appear as an
illuminated arch, with the shadow of Saturn passing over it like the
hour-hand over a dial; at other times they would be like a semi-aureole
of light. Very often, too, for periods of several years, daily eclipses
of the sun must occur through the interposition of this triple ring.

Truly, with the constant rising and setting of the satellites, some with
bright discs at their full, others like silver crescents, in quadrature,
as well as by the encircling rings, the aspect of the heavens from the
surface of Saturn must be as impressive as it is gorgeous.

Unable, indeed, the Gallians were to realize all the marvels of this
strange world. After all, they were practically a thousand times further
off than the great astronomers have been able to approach by means of
their giant telescopes. But they did not complain; their little comet,
they knew, was far safer where it was; far better out of the reach of an
attraction which, by affecting their path, might have annihilated their
best hopes.

The distances of several of the brightest of the fixed stars have
been estimated. Amongst others, Vega in the constellation Lyra is 100
millions of millions of miles away; Sirius in Canis Major, 123 millions
of milli