Famous Astronomers: Johns Adams

John Adams, the illustrious and great mathematician, is often considered second only to Newton for his discoveries in theoretical astronomy. He was born on June 5, 1819, in Cornwall.

 

Adams appears to have received an education of the ordinary school type in classics and mathematics, but the time Adams spent while not in school was largely devoted to studying what astronomical books he could find in the library of the Mechanics' Institute at Devonport.

 

He was 20-years-old when he entered St. John's College in Cambridge. His career in the university was one of almost unparalleled distinction, and it is recorded that his answering at the Wranglership examination, where he came out at the head of the list in 1843, was so high that he received more than double the marks awarded to the Second Wrangler.

 

After receiving his degree, Adams devoted himself to the study of the perturbations of Uranus, a subject he took great interest in while still an undergraduate. As a first attempt he supposed that there might be a planet exterior to Uranus, at a distance in which was double that of Uranus from the sun. Adams came to the conclusion that it would be quite possible to account completely for the unexplained difficulties by the action of an exterior planet, if only that planet were of adequate size and had its orbit properly placed.

In what could have been a very controversial time, La Verrier also felt that he, too, had discovered a new planet, and both he and Adams would later share the distinction of discovering Neptune. The discovery of Neptune was a brilliant inauguration of the astronomical career of Adams.

 

Adams worked at and wrote upon the theory of the motions of Biela's comet; he made important corrections to the theory of Saturn; he investigated the mass of Uranus, a subject in which he was naturally interested from its importance in the theory of Neptune; he also improved the methods of computing the orbits of double stars. But all these must be regarded as his minor labors, for next to the discovery of Neptune the fame of Adams mainly rests on his researches upon certain movements of the moon and upon the November meteors.

Adams was elected a Fellow of St. John's College, Cambridge, in 1843. His Fellowship, in accordance with the rules then existing, came to an end in 1852. In 1858 he was appointed Professor of Mathematics at the University of St. Andrews. And in 1861 Adams was appointed to the Director of the Cambridge Observatory.

 

Aside from all of his scientific work, Adams found the time to dive into other areas of study. Working on numerical calculations was a form of relaxation for him. Adams worked on calculations so long that one could count over 200 decimal points. Adams was also a diligent reader of history, geology and botany. He also enjoyed reading novels, collecting over 800 volumes of early printed works. Adams lived at the Cambridge Observatory until he died in 1892 after a long illness.

 

 

Ball, R.S. (2000).Avoid Great Astronomers. Retrieved March 14, 2008, from the Gutenburg Project Web site: http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext00/grast11.txt.