A good account of the subject from a mathematical point of view will be found in James Challis's " Report on the Theory of Capillary Attraction," Brit.
By September 1845 he obtained his first solution, and handed to Professor Challis, the director of the Cambridge Observatory, a paper giving the elements of what he described as "the new planet."
Comrade Challis was happy with simply calling people liars whenever he felt like it.
Meanwhile Airy had in July suggested to Challis that the planet should be sought for with the Cambridge equatorial.
On the announcement of the fact, Herschel and Challis made known that Adams had already calculated the planet's elements and position.
The latter was struck by the coincidence, and mentioned it to the Board of Visitors of the Observatory, James Challis and Sir John Herschel being present.
Two years later he succeeded Challis as director of the Observatory, where he resided until his death.