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The discovery of the planet Neptune was a triumph of mathematics. While studying the orbit of the planet Uranus, Urbain Leverrier realized that its perturbations suggested the presence of an unknown planet in an orbit beyond that of Uranus. Leverrier promptly calculated where the planet should be found. On September 23, 1846, the astronomer Johann Galle (in Berlin) looked at the indicated spot - and discovered Neptune in less than an hour.
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In my youth I regarded the universe as an open book, printed in the language of equations, whereas now it appears to me as a text written in invisible ink, of which in our rare moments of grace we are able to decipher a small segment.
Arthur Koestler |
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