NEWS FROM HERSCHEL'S PLANET. ill 



\J 



been made within the space of a few weeks. ' M. Arago 

 naturally comments,' says Professor Pritchard, ' on the 

 want of system displayed by Lemonnier in 1769 ; had 

 he but reduced and arranged his observations in a 

 properly-constructed register, his name instead of 

 Herschel's would have been attached for all time to one 

 of the starry host. But Lemonnier was not a man of 

 order ; his astronomical papers are said to have been a 

 very picture of chaos ; and M. Bouvard, to whom we 

 have long been indebted for the best tables of the new 

 planet, narrates that he had seen one of Lemonnier's 

 observations of this very star written on a paper bag 

 which had contained hair powder I ' 



In our days, when fresh planets are being discovered 

 and named in the course of each year that passes, it 

 may appear strange that much difficulty was found in 

 assigning a suitable name to the stranger. But we 

 must remember that for ages the planetary system had 

 been supposed to comprise no other primary members 

 than those known to the ancients. The discovery of 

 Uranus was an altogether novel and unlooked-for cir- 

 cumstance. It was not supposed that fresh discoveries 

 of like nature would be made, still less that a planet 

 would hereafter be discovered under circumstances far 

 more interesting even than those which attended the 

 discovery of Uranus. Accordingly a mighty work was 

 made before Uranus was fitted with a name. Lalande 

 proposed the name of the discoverer, and the new planet 

 was indeed long known on the Continent by the name 

 of Herschel. The symbol of the planet ( $ ), the initial 



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