en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discovery_of_Neptune
1 correction found
In 1845, astronomers Urbain Le Verrier in Paris and John Couch Adams in Cambridge separately began calculations to determine the nature and position of such a planet.
This is wrong for John Couch Adams: he began working on the Neptune problem in 1843, not 1845. Only Le Verrier began his calculations in 1845.
Full reasoning
The date is too late for John Couch Adams.
Historical accounts say Adams had already started work on the Uranus-perturbation problem in 1843, and by September 1845 he was already communicating results.
- A Royal Astronomical Society obituary reproduced by MacTutor says Adams "resolved to undertake the work in 1841" and that "his first solution was effected ... in 1843." It also states that in September 1845 he communicated orbital values to Challis, which means his calculations were already well underway by then.
- Physics Today likewise states: "In 1843 University of Cambridge graduate John Couch Adams began to pursue the idea" that Uranus's orbital deviations were caused by an unknown body.
So the sentence is inaccurate because it presents 1845 as the year both Le Verrier and Adams began their calculations. For Adams, the documented start was earlier: 1843.
2 sources
- John Couch Adams - RAS obituary - MacTutor History of Mathematics
As we know, Adams had resolved to undertake the work in 1841, and his first solution was effected, as soon as he had leisure, in 1843. In September, 1845, he communicated to Professor Challis the values which he had obtained...
- The curious aftermath of Neptune's discovery - Physics Today
In 1843 University of Cambridge graduate John Couch Adams began to pursue the idea that the well-documented orbital deviations of Uranus resulted from an unknown body, probably a planet.