Sir John Herschel and the Stability of Saturn's Ring

Abstract

In a pioneering exposition of mathematical astronomy for the public, Sir John Herschel attributed the stability of the ring of Saturn to its being eccentric with respect to the planet and lopsided (asymmetric in mass) by a minute amount. Tracing the sources and effects of this error reveals several lessons of general relevance to science: on the formulation and interpretation of calculations, the use of cutting-edge observations and the combining of observations with theory. I emphasise the phenomenon of reinforcing errors.