The Discovery of Neptune.
William Lassell and the Triton
discovery.
The file containing the correspondence between Airy and Adams is missing from the archives of the Royal Greenwich Observatory and although attempts have been made to discover its whereabouts these have, so far, been unsuccessful. Adams delivered his calculations to the Astronomer Royal, Sir George Airy, at Greenwich in 1845.
The file, originally stored in the archives of the Royal Greenwich Observatory, also contained unpublished correspondence with Airy, which has never been fully studied by historians. Those letters could throw new light on the roles of Adams, Airy and James Challis (the Cambridge astronomer deputed to search for the new planet) in the discovery of Neptune. Librarians at the RGO discovered that the Neptune papers were missing in the late 1960s, and there has been no sign of them since. One American astronomer has even alleged that the disappearance of the papers was part of a deliberate cover-up to protect the reputation of Adams, who never published his predictions, unlike Urbain Leverrier.
The forthcoming Neptune celebrations will inevitably focus attention on this embarrassing loss. RGO archivists hope that the NAW publicity will lead to the recovery of the papers, and will welcome any information which could lead to their recovery.
The Discovery of Neptune.
William Lassell and the Triton
discovery.
