The Solar System as we know it Alas, poor Pluto. Demoted last year to dwarf planet status -- not really a planet after all. At least its "day in the sun" lasted for 75 years. We bid it a fond farewell as we pluck it out of the solar system mobile from our fourth-grade science project. Now consider the tragic story of Vulcan. It began its life in 1859 as a calculus equation when French mathematician Urbain Le Verrier tried to account for Mercury's deviation from its predicted orbit. Was it caused by a new planet? After all, Neptune was discovered this way. Over the years, scientists and amateur astronomers joined in the search for the hypothetical planet, but Mercury's proximity to the sun made it difficult to view. Was it just a sunspot or an asteroid? It was a moot point by 1915 when Einstein announced his General Theory of Relativity. It neatly explained the wibble in Mercury's wobble and later viewings during an eclipse confirmed it. There was no planet Vulcan. Ah, fleeting fame! Suggested Sites... Hypothetical Planets - some other astronomical objects that have vanished into thin air. NASA's Discovery Program - find out about the program, design your own mission, and get involved. Kuiper Belt - all about trans-Neptunians, those icy remnants of the early stages of our solar system. Astronomy Picture of the Day - 'nuff said.

Directory categories: Astronomers, Astronomy, Planets, The Solar System

Archived under: Astronomy, Planets, Pluto, Science, Space

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