532 Prof. G. B. Airy on the History of the Discovery of 



rapid than the observations appear to give it; the second hy- 

 pothesis, however, still having the advantage. 



" I am at present employed in discussing the errors in lati- 

 tude, with the view of obtaining an approximate value of the 

 inclination and position of the node of the new planet's orbit; 

 but the perturbations in latitude are so very small that I am 

 afraid the result will not have great weight. According to a 

 rough calculation made some time since, the inclination ap- 

 peared to be rather large, and the longitude of the ascending 

 node to be about 300°; but I am now treating the subject 

 much more completely, and hope to obtain the result in a few 

 days. 



" I have been thinking of drawing up a brief account of my 

 investigation to present to the British Association." 



Mr. Main, acting for the Astronomer Royal in his absence, 

 answered this letter as follows : — 



No. 21. The Rev. R. Main to J. C. Adams, Esq. 



" Royal Observatory, Greenwich, 1846, Sept. 5. 

 " The Astronomer Royal is not at home, and he will be 

 absent for some time; but it appears to me of so much im- 

 portance that you should have immediately the normal errors 

 of Uranus for 1844 and 1845, that I herewith send you the 

 former (the volume for 1844 has been published for some 

 time), and I shall probably be able to send you those for 1845 

 on Tuesday next, as I have given directions to have the com- 

 putations finished immediately. If a place (geocentric) for 

 the present year should be of value to you, I could probably 

 send one in a few days." 



In acknowledging this letter, Mr. Adams used the following 

 expression : — 



No. 22. J. C. Adams, Esq. to the Rev. R. Main. 

 [extract.] 

 "St. John's College, Cambridge, 7th Sept., 1846. 

 M I hope by tomorrow to have obtained approximate values 

 of the inclination and longitude of the node." 



On the same day, Sept. 7, Mr. Main transmitted to Mr. 

 Adams the normal places for 1845, to which allusion was 

 made in the letter of Sept. 5. 



On the 31st of August, M. Le Verrier's second paper on 

 the place of the disturbing planet (the third paper on the mo- 

 tion of Uranus) was communicated to the French Academy. 

 I place the notice of this paper after those of Sept. 2, &c. be- 

 cause, in the usual course of transmission to this country, the 

 No. of the Comptes Rendus containing this paper would not 



