Urbain Jean Joseph Le Verrier was a French astronomer and mathematician who specialized in celestial mechanics and is best known for predicting the existence and position of Neptune using only mathematics.
Urbain Le Verrier
Statue of Le Verrier at the Paris Observatory
LeVerrier's autograph
Le Verrier's grave
Neptune is the eighth and farthest known planet from the Sun. It is the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 times the mass of Earth, and slightly more massive than fellow ice giant Uranus. Neptune is denser and physically smaller than Uranus because its greater mass causes more gravitational compression of its atmosphere. Being composed primarily of gases and liquids, it has no well-defined solid surface. The planet orbits the Sun once every 164.8 years at an orbital distance of 30.1 astronomical units. It is named after the Roman god of the sea and has the astronomical symbol , representing Neptune's trident.
Galileo Galilei
Urbain Le Verrier, the French astronomer who mostly successfully predicted Neptune's position in the sky using pure mathematics
Johann Gottfried Galle, the German astronomer who was requested by Le Verrier to look for Neptune using the Berlin Observatory's telescope
John Couch Adams, the British astronomer who independently calculated Neptune's position