Neptune is the only planet in the Solar System whose existence was mathematically predicted before it was directly observed. Astronomers had detected a series of irregularities in the orbit of the planet Uranus which could not be entirely explained by Newton's law of gravitation, but could be resolved if the gravity of a farther, unknown planet were disturbing its path around the Sun.

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  • Neptune is the only planet in the Solar System whose existence was mathematically predicted before it was directly observed. Astronomers had detected a series of irregularities in the orbit of the planet Uranus which could not be entirely explained by Newton's law of gravitation, but could be resolved if the gravity of a farther, unknown planet were disturbing its path around the Sun. In 1846, 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. The first telescopic observation of Neptune was made on September 23, 1846 at the Berlin Observatory, by astronomer Johann Gottfried Galle (assisted by Heinrich D'Arrest), working from Le Verrier's calculations. It was a sensational moment of 19th century science and dramatic confirmation of Newtonian gravitational theory. In François Arago's apt phrase, Le Verrier had discovered a planet "with the point of his pen. " Unfortunately, Le Verrier's triumph also led to a tense international dispute over priority, as shortly after the discovery, Astronomer Royal George Airy announced that Adams had also predicted the planet.
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  • Neptune is the only planet in the Solar System whose existence was mathematically predicted before it was directly observed. Astronomers had detected a series of irregularities in the orbit of the planet Uranus which could not be entirely explained by Newton's law of gravitation, but could be resolved if the gravity of a farther, unknown planet were disturbing its path around the Sun.
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  • Discovery of Neptune
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