On the Title of Moriarty's 'Dynamics of an Asteroid'

We propose an explanation of the title of Prof. James Moriarty’s treatise_Dynamics of an Asteroid_, a scientific work mentioned by Sherlock Holmes in_The Valley of Fear_ and prominently featured in Guy Ritchie’s 2011 film_Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows_. Our views on the subject differ from those expressed in Isaac Asimov’s “The Ultimate Crime”.