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galacticjourney[if you’re new to the Journey, read this to see what we’re all about!]
by Gideon Marcus
In the last planetary article, I discussed the discovery and nature of the seventh planet, Uranus. It was the first sizable member of the solar system to be found since ancient times. And yet, its very discovery sowed the seeds for the quick locating of the next planet out from the sun.
Shortly after William Herschel spotted Uranus and deduced what it was, other astronomers realized that the green planet wasn't following a regular path around the sun. Some invisible thing was tugging at it, causing it to deviate from its orbit. Doing a little math, it was determined that this object must be a large planet, 30 times farther from the sun than the Earth, twice as far from the sun as Uranus!
After a comparatively short search to find Planet 8, the Frenchman Le Verrier discovered it in1846, a very neat application of orbital mathematics and organized observation, the likes of which may never again be repeated. The English wanted to name the planet "Oceanus," but since the French found it, they chose the name: Neptune – Roman God of the sea and brother to Jupiter.
(see the rest at Galactic Journey!)
by Gideon Marcus
In the last planetary article, I discussed the discovery and nature of the seventh planet, Uranus. It was the first sizable member of the solar system to be found since ancient times. And yet, its very discovery sowed the seeds for the quick locating of the next planet out from the sun.
Shortly after William Herschel spotted Uranus and deduced what it was, other astronomers realized that the green planet wasn't following a regular path around the sun. Some invisible thing was tugging at it, causing it to deviate from its orbit. Doing a little math, it was determined that this object must be a large planet, 30 times farther from the sun than the Earth, twice as far from the sun as Uranus!
After a comparatively short search to find Planet 8, the Frenchman Le Verrier discovered it in1846, a very neat application of orbital mathematics and organized observation, the likes of which may never again be repeated. The English wanted to name the planet "Oceanus," but since the French found it, they chose the name: Neptune – Roman God of the sea and brother to Jupiter.
(see the rest at Galactic Journey!)
