1801
In June of 1801, Gauss's friend, Zach who he met years earlier, published the orbital positions of a "new small planet" called Ceres (discovered by the astronomer G. Piazzi). Piazzi wasn't able to observe the full orbit of Ceres because the small planet hid behind the sun. Zach announced several different predictions (each from a different mathematician) about where/when the planet would come out and one of these predictions belonged to Gauss. With a prediction that was considered an outlier, for it varied immensely compared to the other mathematicians', Zach didn't have much faith on Gauss's prediction, that is until the planet finally came out. When December arrived Ceres came along with it at almost the exact location Gauss had predicted. Although Gauss didn't reveal his methods, he most likely used his Least Squares Approximation Method.
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