Show no explanation offered for planet mystery astronomers of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries spent some 40 years disproving the discovery of a new planet between mercury and the sun writes dr heber D curtis director ol of the university of michigan observatories serva tories in an article in the michigan alumnus quarterly review during the total eclipse of 1878 says dr curtis two bright objects near the sun were observed by prof james craig watson one of americas Arne ricas leading astronomers and according to former president james B angell the most brilliant man ever graduated from the uni university hersity of 0 michigan the existence of a planet inside the orbit of mercury had ion long g been predicted by theoretical astronomers tron omers he be writes although the body had never been seen watsons observations therefore he says were heralded as the discovery of a new member of our planetary family confirming watsons discovery he adds were the observations ions of prof lewis swift who saw one of the bodies only a few seconds s bonds later than watson during the same eclipse nut not until the observations of the I 1 total eclipse of 1918 did scientists give up watsons discovery as a mistake although no one had ever been able again to observe either of his two intra mercurial bodies during each eclipse from 1878 until that time astronomers set up and ran intra mercurial cameras in the search for vulcan as the theoretical planet had been named these famous observations of watsons dr curtis asserts defy any satisfactory explanation perhaps as probable a theory as any is that he saw a moderately bright comet with an almost stellar nucleus the relative strong illumination of the sky background he explains would have prevented the detection of a tall tail while the failure of astronomers to find the comet after it had left the immediate vicinity of the sun is explained by the fact that all comets enormously decrease in brilliance as they leave the sun and a small one 0 observed near the sun might never be seen again because its light would amish by hundreds of times within a short time while this theory may explain one of watsons intrater curial objects says dr curtis no explanation has been offend 4 for forthe the other i |