Recently Observed Satellites

Abstract

MAY I ask whether the small, distant, eccentric, and possibly retrograde satellites of Jupiter and Saturn, which have been discovered and seem likely to be discovered, ought not more properly to be regarded as cometary bodies, or a shoal of meteors not yet too much drawn out for visibility at a distance? Would it not be possible for the larger planets to be attended by such bodies, the orbits of which have been made moderately elliptical by an accidental perturbation? It is known that the larger planets are able to capture comets for the sun; is it possible that with the aid of their satellites and subsequent tidal action they may be able to catch a few for themselves?