Planet Discoveries 1930
STILL ANOTHER PLANET?
ANOTHER NEW TRANS-NEPTUAN PLANET has been discovered by astronomers of the Dominion Observatory at Ottawa, according to dispatches to Science Service, given in its Daily Science News Bulletin (Washington). We read:
“This tenth planet of the solar system, if further observations bear out the planetary nature tentatively assigned to it, will make this year notable in astronomical discovery. When on March 13, Lowell Observatory announced the finding of the ninth planet, far beyond Neptune, then the farthest known outpost of the planetary system, the world was startled.
“Now arises the possibility that there are two planets beyond Neptune, both about four thousand million miles from the sun or forty times the earth’s distance from the sun.
“Dr. F. C. Henroteau, astrophysicist of the Dominion Observatory, and Miss M. Burland, his assistant, about ten days ago were looking over the photographic plates made in 1924 in the hope of finding on them the image of the Lowell Observatory planet X. They rejoiced when they found a faint object in about the proper position. But further study convinces them and Dr. R. Meldrum Stewart, director, who described the discovery to Science Service to-day, that they had thus discovered another hitherto unknown planet, which may be called planet Y.
“So far planet Y is known to science on only three photographs taken in 1924. It has not yet been photographed or seen this year. In 1924 it. was a little west of, but close to, where the Lowell planet X should have been at that time. But the position of the heavenly object on the Dominion Observatory plates was enough different to cause Drs. Stewart and Henroteau to announce the probability of another planet.”
Source: The Literary Digest for May 24, 1930
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