19Q ACCOUNT OF THE NEW PLANET CERES. 



Mr, Piazzi has named his planet Ceres Ferdinandia. La* 

 lande propofes to call it Piazzi. 



M m pi« C 2i Untof Mr * Piazzi was born at Ponte in the Valteline ; and was 



profeflbr at Malta, and at Palermo. When an obfervatory 

 was about to be eftablifhed at Palermo, in 1787, he came to. 

 Paris; he then went to London, where he procured fome 

 excellent inftruments : and he has already publilhed two 

 volumes of valuable obfervations ; he is now preparing to 

 meafure a degree in Sicily, and Mr. Lalande has already 

 fent him inflruments for this purpofe. 



Extract from Bode's Kurzer Entu'urf der Aftronomifchen Wiffeiu 

 fchqften, Berlin. 1794- § 387. 

 Numerical ana- Is it probable that Uranus, or the Georgian planet, is really 

 iS fufpecled ^ tuated at tne utmoft limit of our folar world ? This appears 

 the exiftenceor to be very doubtful, confidering the immenfe fpace interpofed 

 Maw and^U between li and thc neareft fixed ftars. Other planets perhaps 

 ter feven years may be ftill more remotely fituated, and may perform their 

 a 8°* revolutions unfeen by human eyes. We can fcarcely fuppofo 



that any planet exifts nearer to the fun than Mercury : but 

 confidering the proportions of the diftances of the planets 

 from the fun, we obferve between -Mars and Jupiter, a dif- 

 tance far greater than a comparifon of the other diftances 

 would lead us to exped, and this fpace may perhaps be oc- 

 cupied by a planet yet unknown. 



This appears to follow from a certain proportion which we 

 find among the diftances of the feven planets already known. 

 Calling the diftance of Saturn 100, that of Mercury will be 

 nearly 4, of Venus 4 + 3 = 7; of the Earth 4 + 2 x 3 = 

 10 ; of Mars 4 -f- 4 x 4=16; we then want a planet at the 

 diftance 4 -f- 8 x 3 = 28 : the diftance of Jupiter is 4 + 16 

 X 3 = 52 ; of Saturn 4 + 32 x 3 = 100 ; and of the Geor- 

 gian planet 4 -f 64 x 3 = 196. 



Obfervationj by It will, however, ftill be doubted by many if the con- 

 whora ? jecture quoted from Profeflbr Bode can be thought to have 



been probable at the time that it was made. Calling the 

 diftance of the Earth 10, the real proportional diftances are^ 

 in the neareft units, Mercury 4, Venus 7, Earth 10, Mars 15, 

 (Ceres 28,) Jupiter 52, Saturn 95, Georgium 92. Jnftead 

 of Mars 16, Saturn J 00, and Georgium 196, § 



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