Edward Emerson Barnard

“ Its path around the sun lies between the earth and the sun. When beyond the sun, as seen from the earth, its fully illuminated side is turned toward us, and it appears round, like the full moon. When it is this side the sun and coming in between us and the sun, we see only part of the side that the sun is shining on, and it no longer appears round. As it comes in more between us and the sun, it assumes the crescent phase, becoming a thinner crescent, until it is a mere thread of light, and is lost in the superior brightness of the sun. ”

“ The planet and rings shine by reflecting the light of the sun to us. Though they form immense circles, the rings arc never opened wider than shown in the drawing, which closely represents the appearance of the planet at the present time. Every fifteen years these rings are presented to us on edge, and they are then too thin to be seen from the earth, and the planet appears for a day or two shorn of its beautiful appendages. ”

“ Nothing is known definitely as to the length of its day. Some astronomers believe that it always presents one face to the sun, so that any beings upon it would have eternal day or eternal night, according to their location on the planet. ”