false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172274048m/158714.jpg 158714 6 In 1841, while browsing in a Cambridge bookshop, a young English student named John Couch Adams happened upon a perplexed remark in an astronomical report on the erratic behavior of the planet Uranus. A gifted mathematician, Adams set about arriving at an explanation, commenting to a fellow student, "You see, Uranus is a long way out of his course. I mean to find out why." Eventually, he did, using not direct observation but, controversially, mathematical modeling of a sort that has become commonplace today. Adams's work, built in a close race against rival French scientist Urbain Le Verrier, eventually established that Uranus's path was influenced by the gravitational pull of the then unseen planet of Neptune; Standage credits both Adams and Le Verrier with its discovery.<p> Drawing on long-forgotten archives, including a scrapbook by the author of the remark that fired Adams's imagination, science correspondent Tom Standage serves up a fine tale of discovery. His story begins with the earliest scientific descriptions of Uranus, an annoyingly wayward planet whose "position in the sky obstinately refused to match up with the position predicted by theory"--the classical theory, that is, of a regular, clockwork universe, which obtained in Adams's day and would not quite be laid to rest until Einstein's time. Standage's story continues to the present, an era when astronomers are, it seems, discovering new planets at every turn. Thanks to Adams and Le Verrier, Standage writes at the end of this graceful book, "Uranus lit the way to Neptune--and Neptune now points the way to the stars." <I>--Gregory McNamee</I> 153190 2000 The Neptune File: A Story of Astronomical Rivalry and the Pioneers of Planet Hunting (Science Matters) (Science Matters) total:22|5:6|4:9|3:5|2:2|1:0| 22 85 37 4 3 0 false false Tue Jun 09 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 04 17:12:40 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 09 16:28:18 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2000 Fri Mar 06 02:00:51 -0800 2009 Fri Mar 06 02:01:57 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Jul 01 09:16:42 -0700 2008 Tue Jul 01 09:23:13 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Jul 11 00:00:00 -0700 2001 Tue Feb 19 14:48:02 -0800 2008 Tue Feb 19 14:48:02 -0800 2008 more...]]> 0 0 false false Fri Nov 13 05:42:59 -0800 2009 Fri Nov 13 05:42:59 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Sun Dec 24 00:00:00 -0800 2000 Sun Nov 01 14:03:01 -0800 2009 Sun Nov 01 14:03:26 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Sun Oct 11 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 10 20:26:20 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 11 15:36:38 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Mon Sep 28 04:35:57 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 28 04:35:57 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Mon Sep 14 17:18:48 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 14 17:18:48 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Wed Sep 09 19:08:25 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 09 19:08:25 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sat Aug 22 21:46:07 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 22 21:46:07 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Fri May 15 21:19:46 -0700 2009 Fri May 15 21:19:46 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Fri Apr 17 17:30:38 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 11 08:06:01 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Tue Jan 15 00:00:00 -0800 2002 Tue Apr 14 11:41:11 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 14 11:41:11 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Wed Apr 01 01:35:03 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 01 01:35:12 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sat Feb 07 16:37:01 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 07 16:52:16 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Wed Jan 28 12:22:15 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 28 12:22:15 -0800 2009 2 0 false false Fri Jan 23 15:36:44 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 15 03:46:53 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 23 15:36:44 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Mon Jan 12 17:24:25 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 12 17:24:27 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Mon Dec 15 02:36:20 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 15 02:36:22 -0800 2008 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=158714