It so happens that scientists, like a curious character known fables by I. A. Krylov, able not to notice the elephant even when it is very close. Yes there elephant - whole planet! That is what happened with Uranus and Neptune - planets of the Solar system that astronomers have repeatedly seen, but felt that watching unknown stars.

It is not negligence or conservatism of thinking is just not always possible to distinguish unusual from the banal, on which attention should be paid not worth it. That's why astronomers long time could not open a planet called Neptune, although it was repeatedly caught in their field of vision. Because of this, there is a strong opinion as if it was opened by what is called the "tip", that is, by means of calculations. But everything was much more interesting - this object astronomers have seen before, but had no idea that watching an unknown planet in the Solar system. However, let's do first things first.

As we remember, all planets beyond Saturn, to the naked eye from Earth is not visible. So some of antique and medieval astronomers did not know about the existence of such objects as Uranus and Neptune (not to mention the dwarf planets in the Kuiper belt, which include Pluto, Sedna and many others). About them it became known only after the advent of telescopes, but scientists waited incidents is often astronomer who observed these remote gas giants, had no idea that they are planets.

So, the seventh planet in the Solar system which was later named Uranus was discovered 1690 British astronomer John Plasticom, however, he took her for a new star in the constellation of Taurus. And only in 1781 known astronomer William Herschel, watching this strange object, he realized that he represents a planet. Although he did not immediately come to a conclusion at first Herschel declared Uranium variable star, after they considered it to be a comet, and only carefully examining the orbit of this mysterious heavenly body, still found it an unknown planet.

Well, the story of the discovery of Neptune was even more fun. Saw him the first time the great Galileo Galilei in 1612. However, an outstanding scientist decided it fixed star - in that as Neptune appears on compiled by Galileo map of the sky. Then, in 1795, the same star" long enough watched the Frenchman Joseph the Lalande - he even managed to write a detailed description of this object. Finally, in 1830, John Herschel (son of William) again discovered this object, but also found it an unknown star.

However, in the 30-ies of the last century has led to a discussion about why orbit open senior Herschel Uranium this wrong. There were many different opinions - and that Uranium is a major partner, and that this planet in its motion tests resistance gas-dust environment, which fills the interplanetary space, and even that Uranium is not subject to the laws of Newton and Kepler. Interestingly, long time no one imagined that this object can be some big planet.

For the first time this idea came to English astronomer Thomas Hussey, who suggested Shuranova planet in 1834, in a letter to his colleague George airy. Airy expressed doubt that such a hypothesis would be able to prove too difficult at that time was to observe such a remote objects.

In the end, Hussey refused further exploration of the mysterious planet, but the content of his writing became known to the young astronomer John Couch Adams. He took the idea Hussey enthusiastically and began to carry out the necessary calculations, the data for which he has kindly given above airy, and another colleague Adams, astronomer James Chellis. To 1845 Adams accurately calculated the orbit of the new planet and reported this to Chellis, however, the promising start of observation, and has not done so.

Meanwhile, another astronomer by the name Urbain leverye also began calculations orbit mysterious planet. Although he finished them later Adams (in 1846), somehow airy treated him with great confidence. As a result, 29 July 1846 began the search for a new planet, which in September was completed successfully. Astronomer Johann Gottfried Galle and his assistant Heinrich Louis d'the ARRA discovered Neptune exactly where he was supposed to be according to the calculations leverye. Halle informed his French counterpart and since then two of these astronomer considered pioneers of Neptune, which, as mentioned above, have seen many astronomers.

Interestingly, Adams did not offended by leverye and did not prove the priority of its calculations. Moreover, two scientists began to correspond and even made friends. By the way, Adams until the end of life denied any involvement to the discovery of Neptune, even though he was the first to calculate the orbit of this planet. Moreover, he refused noble title and designated Director of the Royal Greenwich Observatory - all he wanted to award the priority in the discovery of a new planet.

However, the incidents in the history of Neptune did not end there. The name for the new planet proposed Director of Pulkovo Observatory Vasily Yakovlevich Struve - the man who in his time John Herschel wrote that he saw an unknown star, later proved to Neptune. Interestingly, Professor Struve was one of the most fervent opponents of the idea of finding for Uranium any planet. However, this same planet in the end was fixed just the name, which gave man to the very end did not believe in the possibility of its existence...