On September 23, 1846, Johann Galle of Berlin Observatory received a message from Paris-based astronomer Urbain Le Verrier: “Direct your telescope to a point on the ecliptic in the constellation of Aquarius, in longitude 326 degrees, and you will find within a degree of that place a new planet...” Just in an hour, aided by the mathematical prediction, Galle discovered Neptune, within a degree of the spot indicated by Le Verrier.
Neptune’s discovery was one of the greatest achievements of mathematical astronomy: Le Verrier and several other astronomers, including British mathematician John Couch Adams (who had made a prediction similar to
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