New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1848-02-03
- -. .,.rv chance of mistake being

.... avery chance OF mistake being
fullest forcs go seood forth a. absolutely ana an
bsnisned ~, .ruo--shat there 10 forr'E '"oo"P1.
qaestioo.oy de o6serred motions Of Uranus ana
PLY ss,ies,s that ne Is acted on o%y ~ " I'm.
and s>s-1ri,afron II must here. once Tor ALL 30,
rsrsx oppression Of your admiration 10 resPec'o %
nc''.mmene,ry Of the sheerest and most On
~ soiI. undergone in this great research. a"a.
90 .rI,s Of Astronomy are usually 90 dazzhng tnst
TO. mind of the rapt student easily goes 10 vic
49,. .S ;dsa that the road leading to them equahy
pIs...o.. 4 road through gsrdens-snong howers
Y.nd bv running brooks! Alas alas II isshard
end most weary path-across moor without
sI~..omt No Siberian stePpe can be more arid
sh., the sphere of these labors of LEyERRIER nay,
- vary portion Of Astronomy the labor OF dry
.,c,lstion has become 50 overpowering that the
,e.oarccs Of Analysis have Of late been persever-
;ngjv bestoved, on the discovery OF modes Of short
snlog and checking these processes,-as one OF the
oost effective means OF incre aslng our power LIZ
ysegrss was detained amid such calculations dur
inc the sesson Of the year 10 which. az q frat ap-
rroxiruation had informed him, bis Planet was pas
Ing rapidly from that position In the skies which
alone COR whole year, would permit OF its being
seen Bat he hurried nothing -shrsnk from moth
ing he bore himself a. the high pnilosopne,' 70
whom CUES ses nothing, unless verihed ano ne
knew that in questions like these, II was only the
compatibility Of accurate results that could lead TO
Truth.
Aswe advance we get rid Of uncertainties The
problem 10 now reduced TO simple form viz;
Caa The anomaly besrpiaipsd yths imposed action
ola foreiga and hitherto unknown body on Uranus
Here 100. however, Is choice of by potheses. Is
that foreign body nep planet. or is it a body con
nectsd with Uranus-a s0tellnel The latter idea was
favored by some Astronomers but on grounds
worthy Of no more attention than previous conjec-
lures respecting the Comet II Uranus was 50
disturbed by satellite, that satellite must have
been large. and therefore we ought 70 have seen It
even at that reno,eness; bat what 10 OF conclusive
importance. the description Of perturbstions which
alone could have been produced by satelll1e, 10
not the one with which we are at present concern
ed Those would be essentially oscillatory,-the
satellite being now on side OF Uranus, and now
on the other; and perturbations Of that kind are
not sufficient for the phenomenon before us In so
far as analogy goes then, we are forced on the con-
ception that the disturbing cause may be Planet
vet unseen by the Telescope. This idea, am
perfectly aware, was not q novel one. In world
40 busy az ours and where knowledge, positive and
fancfol belief and idle conjecture, are mixed up
and whrled together amid our common speech, In
erotesque bat inseParsble union II would indeed
bave been wonderful if this most natural sssump-
t,on had been overlooked but rather than seek
amid 90 strange p chaos for the origin and indica
ton Of grand verify, let US give the credit 10 the
true workmen 10 whose minds the conception was
doubtless FIRST recommended by It's general versimi
i,ute bur who were moved thereby, only 10 work
due lealtg 70 NatGre-whether this conception was
really consistent with her arrangements and could
when fully carried QUA explain the dhhcuity 10 us
details THAR MAN ALONE DISCOVERS WHO
pR1ygs" liz is time the truth were apprehended,
that there is no royal or easy road TO Philosophy
The Inquiry, then points TO NEW PLANET.
That word often carelessly pronounced became N
the hands of ADAMS aud LEyERRiER aone-a dell
mite and practical Thought
ia New Plane,-WHERE7 By the general order
gUpou nd nj
nation were afforded which could hardly be much
in error at all events they greatly simplIiied the
earliest calculations. First, It 10 a law among the
know planets. that they lie nearly on the plane OF
the Suas equator. Suppose, tor illustration, the oun
rspresfnted by ball laid on the middle OF table
tleo III the Planets would require, il represented
- BE- laid nearly on that table no one would be
f,nnd far above or below it, The new Planet pro
baby following that law, we should look Tor II IN
the Heavens only through that zone, whose center
is the Eclpic, or the annual apparent pain OF the
san; nay. for conformitys sake, we may suppose
that the planet Is IN the Eciiptic for its utmost pro
battle deviation from that line would produce no
sensible error Secondly. there 10 another rernarka
Bile law whose origin is q1te u0knOwn bot whose
authority as far the limits OF the orbit OF ranus,
was undoubted. IL is ths-Any planet-speaking
ia general terms-is half as far away from the Sun
ne the one next ia order in ascending and twice as
remote as the one next in order In descending. III
the distance of the EARTH, for instance, be repre-
acOteO i,
VESus 4! aud so through all the known system.
This Law is sufficiently general to have been the
cause OF the discovery Of that singular group OF 10
foitessimal bodies between Mars and Jupiter--the
progression having there Indicated hiatus. to be
filed up bye new body aud that group-resem
bling the elements or fragments OF aslngle planet
occupies almost the requisite orbit IL was no IN
ustiisbe hypothesis therefore, TO extend this law
TO the plauet now sougnt-especialy as other al
though minor considerations sustained the conclu-
sion regarding the bodys probable distanco. The
question thus became as follows:
ais Il possible that the inequalities of Uranus due
70 the action Of planet situated in the ecpiic, at mean
distance double that of Uranus9 And II So what is the
place Of the planet. what It's mass what the elements Of
he orbit through which 1t moves"
1t appears simple now but assuredly this was
the most daring effort ever undertaken 10y Man.
The Earth is distant from the Sun almost by the
enormous space OF one hundred millions OF miles.
Uranus is nseteen times farther oil, and this sup
posed planet must by hypothesis, be yet twice az
far Can it be- then, that the thought Of Man. as
the faithful Interpreter Of Natures Laws-sympa-
thizng a. il were, with her universal designs
can walk safely amid profandites 80 dread, and
evolve the necessary compliments TO our planetary
Scheme1 Are We bound 80 closely with the sys.
TEN 20 which We belong. that not vibration
escape us7 10 the human Mind indeed 80 indie.
fsssibly coordinated, even with the grandest laws
wish could follow-Eith the hope of being &C
compsnied by my hesrers-the march OF LEVER
RIGK and ADAMS, in the unwinding OF this memora
bic problem; but their sagacIty having for its es
ssntisl only possible garb, the symbols aud pro-
cesseso OF our recondite Analysis IL is merely
fsw vague conceptions that can expect to give Of
its character aud elevation. In what l do say.
shall abide by the processes OF LsvERRIER. partly
because they are more susceptible OF representa-
ton than the more general developments of Mr..
ADAMS, and also because as matter OF fact they
led to the first discovery OF the actual existence of
the body sought for, and therefore first proclaimed
TO the world this new triumph Of Science. There
are few, although only q few. distinct points,
which may be generally apprehended.
Ii cannot require acquaintance with technical
analysis to enable one to apprehend the nature of
one means toward the solution Of this problem.
viz; the method adopted by Leverrier,- ap-
Proclamation A view Of the conditions that must
determine final result Of only rough description,
would evidently conduct to lsmns within which
both the place and the mass Of the planet mast lie
After tue different quantities Involved assorted
Ats. 49,. =. - Il. N...IN