Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1846-11-19

{ discovery
amazing reach of astronomical science in a
/ way TO Gil us with wonder -
/ Although this body is equal in brightness
only to a star of the eighth magnitude, and
will therefore never be visible to the naked
eye. or bear any important relations TO our
world. vet she mode of It's discovery, evinclng,
as it does, the vast reach of mathematical an
alysis, in penetrating the arena of nature, rem
ders it one of the proudest triumphs Of mod
ern astronomy. Here is body Of sc hundred
millions of miles from us, sending to us the
feeble light of telescope star, which is not
only recognized as belonging to our solar sys-
TEN, but its solitary dwelling place in the
depths of space was Swallowed forth TO the
mathematician in his closet, before even the
largest telescope had revealed It's existence
Let us see by what successive steps this extra
ordinary result was reached.
We must keep in mind that, in accordance
with the law OF universal gravltalion, every
body in the solar system attracts every other,
and tends TO disturb its motions. Such large
bodies, for example, as Jupiter and Saturn,
exert so powerful an attraction, that their in
fluence is felt at a vast distance, reaching even
to the plannet Uranus, and alternately accel-
Grating and retarding its progress around the
sun. Now the nature and intensity OF force
can be estimated from its effects; and the
weight or quantity Of matter In Saturn or Jul
piter. and even its distance at any given time
from Uranus, might be determined, from its
effects on the motions of the latter planet.
Moreover, were one OF these disturbing bodies,
as Saturn for example, altogether invisible,
its existence and even its weight, and its place
in the heavens, could be inferred from these
efectson Uranus. The problem would indeed
be one Of great difficulty, requiring all the re-
sources of the irhtessmal analysis, guided by
the law Of universal gravltation. Still it could
be done. Ii was by method somewhat Like
this, that the existence Of the new discovered
planet was inferred, and its distance and place
in the heavens assigned. After estimating all
the disturbing forces that accelerate or retard
the motion of Uranus around the sun, arising
from the united attractions Of all known bodies
of the solar system, II was found that they all
failed to account for the actual places occupied
by the planet, as determined by observation.
Hence some hidden force besides these must be
in operation. LEVERRIER was the first 10 show
that this force was actually that Of the undis
covered planet, moving around the sun at
twice the distance of Uranus, having, on the
LIST ofJanuary next, a longitude of $3.50. This
hypothesis was first proposed TO the French
Academy at their sitting, Nov. 10, lS45, but
was more fully expounded OF the meeting of
the same body June 4th, 1916. On this sub
iect, Sir JOHN HERscHEL uses The following
language, as reported in the London Athen
9um Of Oct. Sd.
"In my address to the British Association
assembled at Southampton, | stated, among
the remarkable astronomical events of the last
twelve months, that il had added new plan
net TO our list adding-it has done more-it
has given us the probable prospect of the dis
covery of another. We see 1t as Columbus
saw America from the shores of Spain. Its
movements have been fen, trembling along the
FAR reaching line of our analysis, with a GER
tainy hardly inferior TO that OF occular demon
stration."
After stating that the late illustrious astron-
omer, BEssEL, had intmated to him as early
as July, 1912, the probability ofsuch planet
/ beyond the sphere OF Uranus, Sir JoHN pro-
ceeds to observe, that at the time when he
made the foregoing remarks, he was aware
not only Of the calculations of LIE VERRiER,
/ but also that similar investigation had been
made by Mr.. ADAMS, young Mathematician
of Cambridge, while in entire ignorance Of the
conclusions of LIZ VERRIER.
/ Nothing could exhibit more strikingly. both
the sublime reach Of physical astronomy, and
the immutablity of truth itself, than that such
results should have been obtained by two in
dependent routes, by mathematicians in their
closets, each directing the practical astronomers
where 10 point his telescope in order to see a
member Of the solar system, twice as far from
the sun as the remotest planet before known.
which was supposed TO be on the farhest con
fines THAT system, and nothing seems more to
liken man to the Divinity, than this possession
of mind which, by its own creations, can
iathom depths Of space so profound, and Of a
hand TO construct an instrument which clothes
the eye with such extraordinary powers OF
vision, as 10 be able at once to verify these
wonderful revelations of the intellect