[ON SATURN] Sur les Dimensions des Anneaux de Saturne // Memoires de L'Academie Imperiale des Sciences de Saint-Petersbourg. Sixieme Serie. Sciences Mathematique et Physiques. Tome V. [i.e. The Dimensions of the Rings of Saturn // Memoirs of Imperial Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg. 6 series. Mathematics and Physics. Vol. 5]

St. Petersburg: de L'Imprimerie de L'Academie Imperiale des Sciences, 1853. 403-548, [2] pp. 4vo. Original blue wrappers with a decorative border on the covers. Uncut. A very good copy. The front cover detached from the spine, tears on the spine and covers, two spots on the end cover.

Rare.
First and only edition. Report on discovering and measuring the Saturn rings.
Otto Vasilevich Struve (1819-1905) was a Russian astronomer, a leading member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, second in the unique astronomical dynasty which lasted for more than a century. He started working with his father at Pulkovo Observatory and headed it between 1862 and 1889. The American astronomer Benjamin Gould said that Struve made Pulkovo Observatory "the astronomical capital of the world". Struve discovered more than 500 double stars, observed planets and their satellites, comets and nebulae. He won the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1850.
Among his many achievements he also measured the rings of Saturn and discovered (in parallel with other researchers and almost at the same time) the dark inner ring of Saturn. Struve also devised the ring naming system still used today.
It is interesting that Otto was the first scientist of the Struve family to visit the United States. The visit served several purposes, not only providing an opportunity to purchase optics for the new 30-inch telescope in Pulkovo, but more significantly it was a part of a long-term Russia-US astronomy partnership during the 19th century. As a result of Struve's initiative, two US astronomers were appointed Foreign Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences.