On the history of the anomalous appearance of Saturn and its eventual solution, see Van HeldenAlbert, “Saturn and his anses”, Journal for the history of astronomy, v (1974), 105–21, and ‘“Annulo cingitur’: The solution of the problem of Saturn”, ibid, 155–74.
2.
Le opere di Galileo Galilei, Edizione Nazionale, ed. by FavaroA. (Florence, 1890–1909, reprinted 1929–39 and 1964–66), x, 410. Here and below we have used the translations of Van Helden in “Saturn and his anses”.
3.
Ibid., x, 474.
4.
Ibid., x, 500.
5.
Ibid., xi, 41.
6.
Ibid., xi, 47.
7.
Ibid., v, 110. The “Medicean stars” are of course the satellites of Jupiter.
8.
Ibid., v, 237.
9.
Ibid., v, 238.
10.
Ibid., v, 238.
11.
Redshift, Ullstein Verlag (Berlin, 1996).
12.
horizons on-line ephemeris system v2.60, Solar System Dynamics Group, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Pasadena, updated January 1998).
13.
FrenchR. G., “Geometry of the Saturn system from the 3 July 1989 occultation of 28 Sgr and Voyager observations”, Icarus, ciii (1993), 163–214.
