By: Lillian When Neptune was Discovered

Neptune was first predicted before directly observed. With a prediction by Urban Le Verrier, observations confirming the existence of a major planet were made on the night of September 23, 1846, and into the early morning of the 24th, by astronomer Johann Gottfried Galle, working from Le Verrier's calculations. After it was discovered it turned out it had been observed many times before, but not recognized. By 1846, the planet Uranus had completed nearly one full orbit since its discovery by William Herschel in 1781. In 1845, Le Verrier in Paris and John Couch Adams in Cambridge separately began calculations to determine the nature and position of such a planet. Shortly after the discovery, George Airy, at the time British Astronomer Royal, announced that Adams had also predicted the discovery of the planet. How Neptune Got Its Name Shortly after its discovery, Neptune was referred to simply as "the planet exterior to Uranus" or as "Le Verrier's planet". The first suggestion for a name came from Galle, who proposed the name Janus. Claiming the right to name his discovery, Le Verrier quickly proposed the name Neptune for this new planet. In October, he sought to name the planet Le Verrier, after himself. Struve came out in favor of the name Neptune on December 29, 1846, to the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences. Soon Neptune became the internationally accepted name.

Neptune’s Rings Neptune has five rings: Galle, Le Verrier, Lassell, Arago,

and Adams. Its rings were named after the astronomers who made an important discovery regarding the planet. The rings are composed of at least 20% dust with some of the rings containing as much as 70% dust; the rest of the material in the rings is small rocks. The planet’s rings are difficult to see because they are very dark. Astronomers think Neptune’s rings are young compared to the age of the planet. Pictures

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