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This digital document is an article from Science and Its Times, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 1446 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.The histories of science, technology, and mathematics merge with the study of humanities and social science in this interdisciplinary reference work. Essays on people, theories, discoveries, and concepts are combined with overviews, bibliographies of primary documents, and chronological elements to offer students a fascinating way to understand the impact of science on the course of human history and how science affects everyday life. Entries represent people and developments throughout the world, from about 2000 B.C. through the end of the twentieth century. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from Science in Dispute, Volume 1, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 5424 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.Explores controversial topics in science and technology by featuring informative essays, both pro and con, on the major theories, ethical questions and commercial applications of science from all disciplines. ... Read more

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The bizarre orbital patterns of Uranus had for years been an nsolved astronomical puzzle. But when English mathematician John Crouch Adams came across them in 1841, he discovered that there was one very important piece missing: The gravitational pull of another planet-a planet no one had ever seen before. If Adams was able to see in the sky what he was able to deduce on paper, he would not only have discovered a new planet, but also a revolutionary ability to gain knowledge of worlds we cannot see through the power of mathematics.

Unfortunately for him, he had a rival. The French astronomer Urbain Le Verrier calculated the planet's position shortly after Adams-and the international race to spot Neptune began.

"Standage has dug out some fascinating new information, greatly enlivened by the stories of acrimonious fighting." (Sir Arthur C. Clarke)

"An enterprising book that deals adeptly with both the astronomical theory and the human passions." (The Economist)

"It's wonderful to realize that scientists of 150 years ago were chasing fame and glory just as they do today." (Cliff Stoll, author of The Cuckoo's Egg and High Tech Heretic)

"Extraordinary...colorful...both astronomy buffs and armchair explorers will revel in his tale." (Publishers Weekly)

"This is science writing at its best, broadening the mind even as it entertains." (The Oregonian)Amazon.com Review
In 1841, while browsing in a Cambridge bookshop, a youngEnglish student named John Couch Adams happened upon a perplexedremark in an astronomical report on the erratic behavior of the planetUranus. A gifted mathematician, Adams set about arriving at anexplanation, commenting to a fellow student, "You see, Uranus is along way out of his course. I mean to find out why." Eventually, hedid, using not direct observation but, controversially, mathematicalmodeling of a sort that has become commonplace today. Adams's work,built in a close race against rival French scientist Urbain LeVerrier, eventually established that Uranus's path was influenced bythe gravitational pull of the then unseen planet of Neptune; Standagecredits both Adams and Le Verrier with its discovery.

Drawing on long-forgotten archives, including a scrapbook by theauthor of the remark that fired Adams's imagination, sciencecorrespondent Tom Standage serves up a fine tale of discovery. Hisstory begins with the earliest scientific descriptions of Uranus, anannoyingly wayward planet whose "position in the sky obstinatelyrefused to match up with the position predicted by theory"--theclassical theory, that is, of a regular, clockwork universe, whichobtained in Adams's day and would not quite be laid to rest untilEinstein's time. Standage's story continues to the present, an erawhen astronomers are, it seems, discovering new planets at everyturn. Thanks to Adams and Le Verrier, Standage writes at the end ofthis graceful book, "Uranus lit the way to Neptune--and Neptune nowpoints the way to the stars." --Gregory McNamee ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

An interesting story for anyone to read
I found this book at my college bookstore probably about 8 years ago and thought it was interesting. I bought it and then forgot about it until just recently finding it in my library and deciding to read it. I am glad I did.

The Discovery of Neptune is simply a good story. I can't help to like and feel bad for Adams whom had to see his brilliant work go unnoticed for too long and usher in another to claim initial glory. This is the first book I have read revolving around such subject matter (space, planets, etc) and I might look to read more.

The book is a quick read and the story flows very well. It will keep you interested, you will learn about planet hunting and never look at the sky the same way again.

A fun read for astronomy fans
I read this to my son a couple years ago (when he was 10), and we both really enjoyed it. I had been reading it myself, but decided to read the opening chapter to him and he was hooked. The process of "finding" Neptune gave perspective to our own backyard endeavors with a simple refractor telescope.

INTERESTING VIEW
The field of science has long been a habitat for entrenched older types who do not want to shake the fundamental assumptions of its own field. It takes visionaries to do such a thing. The Neptune File chronicles the attempts and successes of planet hunters who had to work against the inertia of the belief that were no other planets to be found beyond Jupiter and Saturn. It begins with the discovery of Uranus by William Herschel in the 1700's and all the skepticism he had to fight against. Once it was accepted as a fact, it opened up a new can of worms because the orbit of the planet did not make sense. It seemed to be irregular, as though some force was operating on it, a force with enough mass to cause that might just be another planet, so the whole thing starts over again. Of course, we would find that there was another planet, Neptune. This book tries to show how much adventure, luck, and just plain persistance leads to great scientific discoveries. Some of the scientists are motivated by fame, others by simple curiosity. It does start to drag by the end, but for the most part is an engaging and entertaining read.It also shows how one discovery settles nothing, but simply leads to more.

History of mathematical planetary astronomy
I devoured this book in three big bites. From the shockingly superior optics of William Herschel to the elegant mathematics of John Couch Adams to the extra-solar planets discovered in the late 1990s to the techniques being now developed to find planets orbiting other stars -- its all fascinating. In the end, most of what you thought watching Star Trek had taught you about distant worlds is sacked. "The idea that planetary systems around other stars will be broadly similar to our own solar system is no longer tenable. Indeed, as more planets are discovered, it is our solar system itself that starts to seem more and more unusual."
If you don't read science books and don't know why anybody would, this book might change your mind. Highly recommended.

Terrific Discovery.(And I'm talking about the book!)
I actually picked up this book in a used bookstore and read the back cover.The facts surrounding the discovery of the planet were new to me.(Kind of embarrassing really that I had never heard it before.Remind me to contact the secondary school I attended!!)In any event, I was enamored by the discriptions on the back cover and bought it for around four or five bucks.I read it in less than a day, which for me is an extreme rarity.I usually spend my time in the "shallow end" of the literary pool, reading books that can only be described as "easy" reads.This is one of the most entertaining books I've read in years.Unfortunately, I lent the book to someone who had more of a background in astronomy who must have known the book's true value and I haven't seen the book (or the guy) since.So I'm back here to purchase another copy.This time I am much more certain of my investment. ... Read more