Note 43 — Chapter XII · SATURN.

Schröter, Harding, Schwabe, and others have observed luminous points on the rings, but they have remained stationary, so that the period of rotation announced by Herschel has never been confirmed, but rather disproved by counter-evidence. Herschel wrote, in November 1789:—“I formerly supposed the surface of the ring to be rough, owing to luminous points like mountains seen on the ring, till one of these supposed luminous points was kind enough to venture off the edge of the ring and appear as a satellite. I have always found these appearances to be due to satellites.”