Editing 1848 in science (section)

==Astronomy==
* September 16 – [[William Cranch Bond]] and [[William Lassell]] discover [[Hyperion (moon)|Hyperion]], [[Saturn]]'s [[natural satellite|moon]].
* [[William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse|Lord Rosse]] studies [[Messier object|M1]] and names it the [[Crab Nebula]].
* [[Édouard Roche]] calculates the [[Roche limit]], the limiting radius of tidal destruction and tidal creation for a body held together only by its own gravity, which explains why the [[rings of Saturn]] do not condense into a satellite.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/saturn/faq.html#roche|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991105133931/http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/saturn/faq.html#roche|url-status=dead|archive-date=1999-11-05|title=What is the Roche limit?|work=Frequently Asked Questions About Saturn's Rings|first=Ron|last=Baalke|accessdate=2013-02-18|publisher=[[JPL]]}}</ref>
* [[Rudolf Wolf]] (in [[Zürich]]) devises a way of quantifying [[sunspot]] activity, the [[Wolf number]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The Sun – History|url=http://www-istp.gsfc.nasa.gov/Education/whsun.html|date=2001-11-25|accessdate=2012-01-08}}</ref>