THE NEW PLANETS. 



in its proper place. If ty change its position, it must be inferred 

 to be a planet, and its orbit is soon calculated from its observed 

 changes of position. 



By these means M. Hencke, an amateur observer of Driesen in 

 Prussia, discovered, on the 8th December, 1845, another of the 

 small planets, which has been named ASTRJEA. 



This discovery was the signal for an extraordinary start. It 

 had so happened that within some years several private observa- 

 tories had been established, and a most respectable, intelligent, and 

 weakhy body of amateurs and volunteers has been added to the 

 regular professional astronomical corps. The result of this is, that 

 within a few years a most unexpected number of planets has been 

 discovered, all occupying nearly the same place in the system ; 

 thus, three were discovered in 1847, one in 1848, one in 1849, 

 three in 1850, two in 1851, eight in 1852, four in 1853, and six in 

 1854, and one on the 6th April, 1855, making the total number 

 discovered to the date of writing these lines (1st May, 1855) 

 thirty-four. 



12. A tabular statement of the elements of these planets was 

 published in the " Annuaire du Bureau des Longitudes" at 

 Paris for the present year, 1855, by M. Le Terrier and his 

 assistants. Recently, however, a much more complete table has 

 been published by Mr. Bishop, whose observatory in the Regent's 

 Park has been signalised by the discovery of eleven of these thirty- 

 four bodies. Desiring to give as wide circulation as possible to 

 this mass of interesting astronomical data, I would refer the reader 

 to Mr. Bishop's table, from which I have extracted the one 

 annexed to this notice. 



To facilitate such researches, Mr. Bishop and his assistants 

 commenced in the winter of 1846-7 the preparation of a series of 

 charts, including all stars to those of the eleventh magnitude, 

 within 3 of the ecliptic. " At the present moment," says Mr. 

 Bishop, writing in March, 1855, " fourteen maps are finished, 

 engraved, and published to assist other observers in their search 

 for new planetary bodies, and it is hoped to place the others 

 before the public with no great delay." It was in the prepara- 

 tion of these charts, aided by those of Berlin, that ten planets 

 were discovered at Mr. Bishop's observatory by Mr. Hind, and 

 the eleventh more recently by Mr. Marth. 



Mr. Bishop remarks, that during the preparation of his maps 

 several other planets were seen, but lost again through the long- 

 continuance of unfavourable weather, or owing to the object not 

 having been missed at a sufficiently early period after it was 

 entered upon the map. 



Too much credit cannot be given to various astronomers, 

 166 



