Science – We often hold our heroes in high regard, hoping they won’t encounter setbacks or scandals. However, in the realm of science, failure can sometimes pave the way for remarkable achievements. Even the most esteemed scientists have had their share of flaws, and some of history’s greatest failures have led to unforeseen success.
John Couch Adams, an astronomer, experienced significant failure but ultimately found redemption. His career began with the proposition of a new planet existing beyond Uranus. During the mid-1800s, Sir Isaac Newton’s law of universal gravitation had prevailed unchallenged for two centuries, accurately predicting celestial movements. In 1781, the discovery of Uranus by William Herschel provided an opportunity to test this law once again.
Mystery of Uranus Science: Defying Newton’s Laws of Motion
Newton’s theory stated that planets should follow an elliptical orbit around the Sun, and initially, it seemed that Uranus adhered to this expectation. However, there was a discrepancy when it came to the speed at which Uranus moved, as predicted by Newton’s laws, giving rise to Kepler’s second law.
Over several decades of observations, it became evident that Uranus deviated from this law. In 1781, the Voyager 2 mission provided a close encounter with Uranus, and since then, no other visit has taken place for the past three decades.
John Couch Adams’ Quest for the Eighth Planet
In 1821, astronomer Alexis Bouvard shared his observations of Uranus, proposing the possibility of either flaws in Newton’s laws or the presence of an undiscovered planet affecting Uranus’ orbit. Intrigued by this notion, John Couch Adams dedicated his early career to investigating this phenomenon.
Over several decades, Uranus exhibited variations in its speed of movement, suggesting the influence of an external celestial body. In the early 1840s, Adams set out to predict the location of this new planet, providing astronomers with a specific target for their search, in the pursuit of unraveling this celestial mystery.
The Race to Discover Neptune & John Couch Adams’ Missed Opportunity
In the mid-1840s, John Couch Adams collaborated with astronomers James Challis and George Airy, sharing his predictions about an undiscovered planet. However, despite making six contradictory predictions with a range of 12°, the planet remained elusive. To Adams’ dismay, the French astronomer Urbain Le Verrier ultimately stole the spotlight. Le Verrier computed the position of the new planet and sent the information to Johann Galle at the Berlin Observatory.
On September 23, 1846, Galle and his assistant successfully located the planet, which came to be known as Neptune. Although Adams had made significant contributions to the understanding of the outer planets, he played no direct role in Neptune’s actual discovery.
Adame says
“I mention these dates merely to show that my results were arrived at independently, and previously to the publication of those of M. Le Verrier, and not with the intention of interfering with his just claims to the honours of the discovery ; for there is no doubt that his researches were first published to the world, and led to the actual discovery of the planet by Dr. Galle, so that the facts stated above cannot detract, in the slightest degree, from the credit due to M. Le Verrier.”
Humility and Continued Pursuit of Science
Despite being overshadowed by Le Verrier in the discovery of Neptune, Adams remained humble and never falsely claimed credit. He focused on other scientific problems, such as studying deviations in the Moon’s orbit and received recognition for his work. In 1866, the occurrence of a spectacular Leonid meteor storm sparked a new direction in Adams’ research, raising intriguing questions about its significance.
The Phenomenon of Meteor Showers
The 1833 Leonid meteor storm was a remarkable event characterized by frequent showers of shooting stars. John Couch Adams developed a theory explaining the origin of meteor showers, suggesting that they result from small dust grains colliding with Earth’s atmosphere at high speeds. These showers occur annually in the same region of the sky because Earth passes through dusty debris along its orbit. The densest point of this debris periodically intersects with our planet, giving rise to spectacular meteor displays.
