Celestial police
Informal name for the German United Astronomical Society / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Celestial police (German: Himmelspolizey), officially the United Astronomical Society (German: Vereinigte Astronomische Gesellschaft), was a cooperation of numerous European astronomers in the early 19th century. It is mainly known in relation to the search for objects expected between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. It was formed in 1800 at the second European congress of astronomers.[1] At the first such congress, in 1798, the French mathematician Jérôme Lalande had called for a coordinated search, in which each participating observatory would patrol a particular part of the sky.[2] The group confirmed or discovered the four largest minor planets, which would lead to the identification of the asteroid belt. They also initiated the compilation of better star catalogues and the investigation of variable stars. They pioneered international collaboration and communication in astronomy.[1][3]