New Britain herald., 1930-03-14
Lnds S0-Ncar Search

Ends S0-Icar Search
 Chicago March l i Pl-Au S0-ycar search for d hide-away member of the Father sol's family has been successfully terminated.
 Ever since two young mathcmati- cal astronomers. with pencil and paper. computed the approximate position of an unknown planet which was causing Uranus to cut capers leading to the telescopic discovery of Neptune in 1S46. sky scarchers have been groping in the void be- yond Neptune for a still more dis tant member of the solar family.
 Mathematical calculations, welded 10 telescopic searching of the heavens. resulted in an announce ment yesterday from Lowell Obser- Natory at Flagstaff Arizona, that q ninth and outer planet had been dis covered.
 Old Sol's known family. mp until then had consisted of eight major planets, hundreds and hundreds Of small planets, or planetoids, a score of planetary satellites, and an oc- casional visiting comet.
 Six Known to Ancicnts
 Six of the planets, Mercury Venus. Earth, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn 2 were known to the ancients as bright stars in the heavens. A seventh planet, Uranus, was Discovered" tclescopically; while the finding" of Neptune, was the first triumph Of mathematical astronomy.
 The existence of a planet or more than one planet outside the orbit of Neptune, has been the subject Of speculation and the object of search for years.
 The late Percival Lowell. who per haps is best known for his cxton- ; sive studies of the planet Mars pre- dicted mathematically the existence Of this outer paaet l,,t -. William H. Pickering of Harvard , Observatory, in 1909 published a :. work on "A Search for q Plant Be | yond Neptune and two years ago announced mathematical calcula- tions for the position of Plan O. based on the perturbations of Uranus and Neptune. This planet he sur missed was a companion to Neptune with an orbit which at certain periods was within that Of Neptune Telescopic search for this body however, was without result.
 Pickering Also Comments
 Prof. Pickering also presented c>i- dence of the existence of q very large planet located far beyond Ncp- tune.
 Saturn was probably the remotcst planetary body known 10 the an cients. Uranus. the first planet ever "discovered' was found accidentally by the Elder Herschel on March 13. 17S1. while sweeping" the sky for interesting objects with seven inch reflector of his own construction.
 More than a half century later 1t was noted that Uranus failed to move precisely in the path computed for it. and that it was misguided by some influence to an extent which could almost be seen with the naked eye
 In Paris, a young mathematical astronomer, LcEerrier. came 10 the conclusion that a planet beyond Uranus was causing the disturbance. And he calculated the position Of such a planet and sent his findings 10 Galle in Berlin. A telescope turned on the spot indicated by l.ererrier resulted eventually in tho finding of Neptune on the night Of September 2S. 1S4G. Later it de Ncloped that an Englishman. John C. Adams, had made almost identical calculations and that the planet was being searched for hy English tclc- scopes at the same time the one at Berlin located the heavenly body,
 fragments Discovered
 The discovery of hundreds oi netoidS-hclievod by some aS- tronomers either to be fra gments ot 2 shattered planet. or mHtcria which failed to conseal into q planet was another major astronomical event of the 18th century.
 Astronomers long ago observed that there was q certain set ration ir the distances of the planets from the sun. and this came to be known as Bodo's law, until the finding oi Neptune upset the ratio. There was an unaCcountablc space. however between Mars and Jupiter and tclc- scopes were directed there for pos sible planet.
 One was found on January 1 1S01-a very small planet Bul that was not all. As years went by hun dreds of these planctoils Werc re- Ncaled in telescopes. some of them no larger than ten miles in diameter
 While search has advanced for years for -Neptunian planets there has been almost as intensive investigation of q possible planet be- tween the Sun and Mercury old Sols nearest ncighbor. Such planrr has been announced as discovered from time 10 time and even has beer given the name Of Vulcan but th, evidence of it's existence has nc,"r been conclusive.
 Drau,1ttc Story I,r,ralrI