The astronomical community’s consensus to reclassify Pluto’s status as a planet will have repercussions that won’t easily die down.
By: Vanessa Uy
That’s right, Pluto is no longer a planet. Astronomers didn’t have to wait the 248.4 years it takes for Pluto to complete it’s orbit around the sun to reclassify it from a planet to something like one of those large bodies that belong to the Kuiper belt. The Kuiper belt is the region of our solar system where short-period comets originate and this is where material that’s left over from the formation of the planets currently resides.
In 1978, it was found out that Pluto had a moon. The astronomical community named it Charon. Charon is almost the same size as Pluto and this “dumbbell system” has quite a curious effect on Pluto’s angular momentum. Pluto’s highly eccentric orbit will no longer make it as the farthest “planet” from the sun starting 1978. Pluto’s highly eccentric orbit is a consequence of Albert Einstein’s “General Relativity” theory.
Showing posts with label General Relativity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label General Relativity. Show all posts
Friday, June 1, 2007
Planet Vulcan
Is this a “Tabloid Press” planet, or one of the astronomical community’s honest mistakes?
By: Vanessa Uy
Sometimes a currently held wisdom of astronomy is redefined over time, usually due to recent advances in science. The advancing perihelion of the planet Mercury; was once believed to be caused by as a yet undiscovered planet. Astronomers at that time dubbed the planet Vulcan after the Roman god of fire and due to the planets supposedly close proximity to the sun- closer than Mercury in fact. Even though Vulcan was never directly observed by optical and/or radio telescopes, astronomers at the time were confident of Vulcan’s existence due to its effect on Mercury’s orbit.
It was later proven that the advancing perihelion of the planet Mercury’s orbit is a consequence of Albert Einstein’s “General Relativity” theory. Thus the existence of Vulcan was ruled out. Vulcan was just a fictitious planet that was accidentally “created” by the astronomical community back then to describe a phenomena that’s not yet fully understood at the time.
By: Vanessa Uy
Sometimes a currently held wisdom of astronomy is redefined over time, usually due to recent advances in science. The advancing perihelion of the planet Mercury; was once believed to be caused by as a yet undiscovered planet. Astronomers at that time dubbed the planet Vulcan after the Roman god of fire and due to the planets supposedly close proximity to the sun- closer than Mercury in fact. Even though Vulcan was never directly observed by optical and/or radio telescopes, astronomers at the time were confident of Vulcan’s existence due to its effect on Mercury’s orbit.
It was later proven that the advancing perihelion of the planet Mercury’s orbit is a consequence of Albert Einstein’s “General Relativity” theory. Thus the existence of Vulcan was ruled out. Vulcan was just a fictitious planet that was accidentally “created” by the astronomical community back then to describe a phenomena that’s not yet fully understood at the time.
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