Translations:Model used for deconvolution/4/en

Gauss’s love for numerical calculations stirred his interest in astronomy. On New Year’s Eve 1800-1801, Giuseppe Piazzi had discovered what he thought was a new planet (it was the asteroid Ceres). Because observers soon would lose sight of such a small object, it was important to calculate its elliptical orbit as soon as possible. Using only the few observations that had been made of the asteroid, Gauss calculated its orbit (reputedly by least squares) so accurately that astronomers could locate it again late in 1801 and early in 1802.