An introduction to astronomy: designed as a text-book for the use of students in college. By Denison Olmsted ...

EwV lrANTF, TS) Olt AS'rlltOl). t95
lbreak t}he conltnlit)r of te, series; and about the close of thile
last cnlturly,IBode, of Berlin, showed that a series of numbelrs
follow ingl a certain law (Art.2 299) would express quite acenlra'tely tlhe distances from the stlun, ven to'[ranIus, which hadl
just been discovered, if only thle vacantSy betIween MRLars and
Jul)t('i \\wce sltpliedl. So stronl ly werte astronomers ipressc(l
Wtiith the idea thlat a planet would be found between tMars anl(l
Juplliter, tlhltt, in hople of discovering it, an association was
formeld on tie conltinlet; of Eturope cof twrenty-four obscivers,
whfo d(ivided the siky into as many zones, one of which was
allotted to each memberltl of thle association. l'lhe discovery of
thle first;of these bodies b was, however, mnadc accidentally by
]Piazza, aln astlronomlel0 r of P<aleltrmoe, on thie Ist of Jaluaryl,;I,8k' 1.
It. wats lsholtly afterwlard lost sight of, on taccount of its proXilmity to thte sun, and was not seen agail until the close of tllhe
year, whenlt it was rediscovered ill (crmtany. P _iazza called it
6rie,'e in ht onor of the tutelary goddess of Sicily, and her czblem, tlhe sickle;, h]as bcen aldoplted as thle approplriate symlbol. 1The (lifticulty of finlling Ceres induced I)Dr. 0lbers, of
I131Brcm1cn, to exantinc, w\ith Ip')tticilar care, all the sImall stars
thatt lie near herl path, as seen fr'oml the arth l; and, whlle proscc utintg thlse oblservations, iln 1 archl, [1802, h1e discovered
anot1her simlilar body, very nearly at thec s1lame distance friom
tic su, anlld resembllin ttc forI'ler ill many other 1)articilal's..lhe d(iscoverelr gave to t]his seceond plancet thle 1name of.Italla's,
choosingl for its syrmbol tlhe lance, the characteristic of
3,26. Thlc most surpriising8 circumstance connected withl tlhe
discovery of lPallaS, w\as tlie cxistence of two planets at neaIrly
tlth sfial distance ft'roni tlhe slun, and applarently having a coitm111n Itlod; a cilcumstance thlat indicated an identity of origin.
(n alccounllt of thlis singularity, I)r. Olbcies was led to coinjectrlle
tlhat Cer0es and Pallas are only firagllnclts of a larger l)lianet
wlhich had for1) erlty circulatedl arouend tlce sun at this distance,
al(d b1 eeCmt slttOred 1))by some great convulsion.
-In 180.1-, near one of the nodea of Ceres and Pallas, a thlird
iplanct was (iscovelred. This was named Jtito, an1 the chatracteIr waN.s adoplted folr its slymbol, rcl)presntitng thie starry scepter of thle goddess. In 187i, a fourth pllanet, Vest, \was dis