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Whose math predicted the existence and position of Neptune before it was seen?
AstronomyNeptune
Quick Answer
Urbain Le Verrier used calculations to predict Neptune in 1846. Johann Gottfried Galle then observed the planet on 23 September 1846.
The Full Story
The French mathematician Urbain Le Verrier analyzed irregularities in Uranus’s orbit and proposed that an unseen planet was causing them. In 1846 he sent predicted coordinates to the Berlin Observatory. Johann Gottfried Galle and Heinrich d’Arrest found Neptune within about 1 degree of the predicted position on 23 September 1846. It was one of the most celebrated triumphs of mathematical prediction in astronomy.
Key Facts
1.Prediction published in 1846
2.Observed on 23 September 1846
3.Found near the predicted position
YouTube Angle
Suggested video title for this topic:
"A planet found on paper before it was found in the sky."