CHAPTER II 

 THE CENTURY'S PROGRESS IN ASTRONOMY 



THE first day of our century was fittingly signalized 

 by the discovery of a new world. On the evening of 

 Januarv 1, 1801, an Italian astronomer, Piazzi, observed 

 an apparent star of about the eighth magnitude (hence, 

 of course, quite invisible to the unaided eye), which later 

 on was seen to have moved, and was thus shown to be 

 vastly nearer the earth than any true star. He at first 

 supposed, as Herschel had done when he first saw 

 Uranus, that the unfamiliar body was a comet; but 

 later observation proved it a tiny planet, occupying a 

 position in space between Mars and Jupiter. It was 

 christened Ceres, after the tutelary goddess of Sicily. 



Though unpremeditated, this discovery was not un- 

 expected, for astronomers had long surmised the exist- 

 ence of a planet in the wide gap between Mars and 

 Jupiter. Indeed, they were even preparing to make 

 concerted search for it, despite the protests of philoso- 

 phers, who argued that the planets could not possibly 

 exceed the magic number seven, when Piazzi forestalled 

 their efforts. But a surprise came with the sequel; for 

 the very next year Dr. Olbers, the wonderful physician- 

 astronomer of Bremen, while following up the course of 



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