(see Astronomy-Index, Encycl.) has no fewer than five satellites revolving round it, all discovered by Dr Herschel. Of the two which he first discovered, one was found to revolve in 8 days 17 h. 1 m. 17 sec. at the distance of 33° from its primary; and the other in 13 d. 11 h. 5 m. 15 sec. at the distance of 44°. The planes of their orbits form such large angles with that of the planet itself, and consequently of the ecliptic, as to be almost perpendicular to it. To this remarkable departure from the analogy of the old planets, another still more singular has been lately announced. They move in a retrograde direction! The new satellites revolve as follows, the periodical times being inferred from their greatest elongations: The interior satellite in 5 d. 21 h. 25 m. at the distance of 25°. A satellite intermediate between the two old ones in 10 d. 23 h. 4 m. at the distance of 38°. The nearest exterior satellite at about double the distance of the farthest old one, and consequently its periodical time 38 d. 1 h. 49 m. And the most distant satellite full four times as far from its primary as the old second satellite. Whence it will take at least 107 d. 16 h. 40 m. to complete its revolution. Whether the motions of these four be direct or retrograde, is, we suppose, not yet determined.

From some observations of the Doctor, with an excellent seven-feet telescope, certain appearances, resembling that of two rings surrounding the planet, and crossing each other at right angles, were seen on several different days. They were not altered in position by turning the speculum in its cell; but (says Mr Nicholson) there is little doubt that they were optical deceptions, because they kept their position with respect to the tube, after the relative position of the parallel had been... been much changed by the earth's rotation, and because they did not appear with larger telescopes applied during the course of ten years. The disk of the Georgium Sidus is flattened. It therefore revolves with considerable rapidity on its axis. From the very faint light of the satellites, they are observed to disappear in those parts of their orbits which bring them apparently nearest the planet. This does not arise from an atmosphere; for the effect is the same, whether the satellite be within or beyond the planet.