Saturn's ring
Date
29 August 1664
Creator
Christiaan Huygens (1629 - 2006, Dutch) , Natural philosopher
Object type
Archive reference number
Manuscript page number
p5
Material
Dimensions
height (page): 225mm
width (page): 175mm
width (page): 175mm
Subject
Content object
Description
A figure of Saturn and its ring in Christian Huygens's letter to Robert Moray dated 29 August 1664, which was read to the meeting of the Royal Society on 31 August 1664. In the letter, Huygens discussed Giuseppe Campani's tract on the ring of Saturn (see Cl.P/8i/8/001), which indicated some shadows. Huygens reported that he saw a small shadow on the ring at A using Divini's telescope.
There are copies of this figure at EL/H1/36/004, LBO/1/186 and LBC/1/215.
There are copies of this figure at EL/H1/36/004, LBO/1/186 and LBC/1/215.
Object history
At the meeting of the Royal Society on 31 August 1664, ‘[Sir Robert Moray] produced a letter of Mons. Huygens, dated at the Hague, 29 Aug. 1664, N. S, mentioning an instrument devised by him for measuring the velocity of descending bodies (which was found not much different from that of Mr. Hooke invented before) as also, a new observation concerning Saturn, made the last spring at Rome, by one Campani, viz. that the circle of Saturn had covered a part of its sphere above, and had been covered thereby below, even with a little shadow upon the circle below, and upon the sphere above’ (Birch 1:464).
In 1663, Giussepe Campani observed Saturn as a central globe surrounded by a ring, which he published as Ragguaglio di due nuove osservazioni (1664). See Albert Van Helden, 'Annulo Cingitur: The Solution of the Problem of Saturn', Journal of the History of Astronomy, 5 (1974), 155-74 (p. 167).
In 1663, Giussepe Campani observed Saturn as a central globe surrounded by a ring, which he published as Ragguaglio di due nuove osservazioni (1664). See Albert Van Helden, 'Annulo Cingitur: The Solution of the Problem of Saturn', Journal of the History of Astronomy, 5 (1974), 155-74 (p. 167).
Related fellows
Christiaan Huygens (1629 - 2006, Dutch) , Natural philosopher
Robert Moray (1608 - 1673, British) , Natural philosopher
Robert Moray (1608 - 1673, British) , Natural philosopher
Associated place