Evening star., 1898-10-22
4 REMARKABLE NEW Planet
One of the Asteroids That Has n Pc
cuIiar orbit.
From the Times


From the London Times.
OF all the different departments of as
Economical work minor planet" discovery
has seemed by far the least interesting and
profitable. There seemed no end to their
nrmbers-more than one hundred and fifty
having been detected within the last ten
years: they are too small for any markings
to be observed on their surfaces or to af-
ford fields for delightful speculations as to
their climates and inhabitants; they are
just wandering bowlders as numerous as
the pebbles on the seashore, and with, for
the most part, scarcely more individuality
Il repay the astronomer for the toll of
keeping a watch on their notions and of
computing their orbits, so that it was with
a decided feeling of satisfaction that most
astronomers saw the first half of the pres
ent year go by without single fresh dis
covery.
The last two months. however, have each
brought new capture; the first, discovered
by NJ. ChaTlois of the Nice observatory on
July 16, having no special claims to at
tention. but the second, discovered by Herr
Witt of the Urania observatory, Berlin. on
August IA, seems to nave remarkable an
orbit that astronomers will think the labor
spent on the discovery and observation OF
the other 430 or so of these little bodies well
bestowed, since 1t has led to the discovery
of this one.
lHe cnleI interest OF minor planet as
trOnomy has lain in the suitability of some
of them for use in the determination of the
fundamental unit of astronomy, the dis
tance of the earth from the sun. Some of
them come sufficiently near the earth every
now and then for their distance to be de-
termined with considerable precision. And
as the relative distances of the various
planets can easily be ascertained, to know
the distance accurately of one is to know
the distance of ALL
But the minor planets" a body. lie
between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars,
and only one or two ever come nearer TO
the sun than the mean distance of Mars
The new planet, unlike all it's brethren, if
the first attempts at the calculation of it's
orbit are to he received, has its mean dis
tance from the sun within that of Mars
and. travelling in a very eccentric orbit, will
approach the earth. when it is at its near
est approach to both earth and sun at the
same time-withfn fourteen millions of
miles. It will be al such times our nearest
neighbor in space, after the moon herself
but such close oppositions will only occur
about once in thirty years. The time ot
revolution of the rev planet is t45 days
Like the other pocket planets" it is Of
very small size, say twenty to twenty-five
miles in diameter but on the occasion of q
very close opposition, it will shine as a
sixth magnitude star, and therefore be
visible to the naked eye. Even at its most
distant oppositons it will be of the eleventh
magnitude, five six times as bright-that
is. most Of the more recently discovered
minor planets. This fact makes it most re-
markable that it has not been discovered
earlier. and creates the hope that other
bodies nearer than Mars may be detected.
At any rate it will revive the interest in
which it is at present by far the most use
full and interesting.