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Additional Note on the Ultra-Neptunian Planet, whose existence is indicated by its action on Comets

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 September 2014

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Extract

The history of research in this planet is briefly as follows:—In 1879 Professor Newton enunciated the proposition that if the elliptic orbits of comets have been changed from parabolas by planetary perturbations, then the probabilities are in favour of the comet's position at the time becoming the aphelion position of the new orbit. This explains why the aphelion distances of so many comets agree with the mean distances of Jupiter and Neptune respectively.

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Proceedings
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Society of Edinburgh 1902

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References

page 370 note * A short abstract appeared in the Proceedings. I printed privately 100 copies of the full paper, which were distributed to observatories and astronomers who applied for them. The present Astronomer-Royal, who at that time edited The Observatory, published the full paper in the issue of that journal for June 1880. The perturbations of Uranus by the new planet were discussed in a paper read to the R.S.E., 1880, May 17th. Further particulars were given to the R.S.E., 1881, January 17th. Both of these appear in the Proceedings.

page 371 note * Mecanique Celeste, vol. iv., pp. xviii. and 223, etc.

page 374 note * In the paper which I read to the R.S.E. in January, 1881, the perturbations of Uranus by the new planet led me to estimate its mass at a little more than half that of Jupiter.