Vulcan!

The theory of "Vulcan" was proposed by Le Verrier.

As for who Le Verrier is, he is also a well-known figure in the world of astronomy. The positions of director of the French Observatory are empty and not worth mentioning. The most famous one is that he used mathematical methods on August 31, 1846.

He calculated the orbit of Neptune and predicted its position, for which he won the Copley Medal of the Royal Society and was highly praised by Engels.

Father of Neptune.

After the discovery of Neptune, Mercury has also been deviating from its orbit. The orbit calculated by humans is accurate among all the planets in the solar system. Only Mercury's movement has errors every time. This error made Le Verrier suspect that

Is there an unknown planet inside Mercury that is interfering with the movement of Mercury?

Based on calculations, Le Verrier predicted the transit date of this unknown planet between the Earth and the Sun, and named it Vulcan.

However, the astronomical community has two attitudes towards the existence of Vulcan.

Because no matter how we observe, Vulcan has not been found. Le Verrier's predicted orbit has prevented people from observing Vulcan once. This is very disappointing in itself, and it also makes people wonder whether there may be other planets in Mercury.

a planet.

After all, the distance from Mercury to the solar system is only 57.9 million square kilometers. The sun seen from Mercury is eight times larger than the sun seen from Earth. If there is a planet within this limited distance, it would be too close.

Logically speaking, with the gravitational pull of the sun, it is impossible for a planet to exist at such a close distance. Even if there were, it would be swallowed up by the sun.

Later, Einstein even introduced the general theory of relativity. He believed that if the sun is regarded as an absolute sphere, then due to the larger mass of the sun, the gravitational effect of Mercury will also be greater, and a larger force will occur in the space near it.

"Bent". Later observational results supported the "bent" theory, making the 'Vulcan' theory lose its supporters for a time.

However, in 1982, astronomers at the University of Arizona announced to the world that the sun was not absolutely round, and its equatorial diameter was 0.0017% larger than its poleward diameter. This negligible expansion figure was enough to shake the foundation of general relativity. If

Einstein's explanation for Mercury's orbit deviating from the normal orbit was wrong, so the "Vulcan" between Mercury and the sun predicted by Le Verrier might exist. Therefore, people continued to search for "Vulcan".

But after so many years, including more than 20 explorations of Mercury by the United States, Vulcan has not been discovered.

Therefore, whether Vulcan exists or not is still ambiguous to this day. No one from all walks of life can make an accurate judgment. We can only say that we should continue to explore. But at present, the astronomical community has a negative attitude towards Vulcan.

Although this will not affect Le Verrier's status in the astronomical community, there is still a difference between a person discovering two planets and discovering one. If two planets are discovered, then his status in the astronomical community is the first

Of the eight major planets in the solar system, only one has been discovered each, and only Le Verrier has discovered two.

This reputation is unparalleled.

Unfortunately, Vulcan has never been discovered.

Of course, Le Verrier also has supporters. For example, the famous Hollywood director James Cameron directed the Na'vi in ​​"Avatar", which is a variation of Le Verrier's pronunciation.

At this moment, Vulcan was finally discovered. However, the signal was sent back to the earth, but there was no response. This made everyone quite frustrated. After all, it was a pity that they could not share this great discovery with everyone on the earth.

In fact, along the way, they flew over Mercury and took a lot of photos of Mercury. They have learned much more about Mercury in the past few days than humans have known in the past few decades.

However, these photos are all under a confidentiality agreement. Only Paul Allen has the right to decide whether to publish them, and no one else has the right to publish them. If anyone breaks the contract, they will be immediately quarantined and will remain in confinement until they return.

During the Earth Period, at the same time, extremely expensive monetary penalties will be imposed on it.

Therefore, during the previous period when the signal was unobstructed, no secrets were leaked. In this regard, with the security force of ‘Langya’, no one will mess around.

Of course, this is the 'Earth' after all. The huge space and the comfortable environment allow everyone to enjoy this wonderful space travel. If it is not the 'Earth', then most of the people on the 'Earth'

No one is qualified to set foot in space. They also cherish it, even if they spend their whole life for it.

Among the 6.5 billion people, there will always be some people who are willing to devote their lives to the space industry.

"Be careful!" Paul Allen ordered.

Vulcan is 12 million kilometers away from Mercury! The distance between the two sides is very close, which is incredible in astronomy. 12 million kilometers is too close. However, the distance is just right. Because it is farther away

, then it is close to the sun, and within the absolute gravitational range of the sun, the entire planet will be swallowed.

As for the size of Vulcan, it is not big, only about one-half the size of Mercury. The diameter of Mercury is 4878 kilometers, which is considered small in the solar system. You know, the moon is 3476 kilometers long, but the moon is

It is a satellite of the earth, and the diameter of the earth is 12,756 kilometers, which is several times that.

Then, this Vulcan is even smaller. It is actually only half its size. According to their mapping, the diameter of Vulcan is only 2356 kilometers. This head, as a planet, is too small, too small.

However, according to Paul Allen's calculations, it can just slightly affect the movement of Mercury, causing its orbit to deviate a little.

It's just that this is a little weird, that is, it's too round.

Yes, it’s too round!

Although, under the influence of gravity, all planets and stars will be round, which is the most stable structure. However, this world is not perfect, and no planet, including gas stars like the sun, can be truly

round. However, Vulcan is extremely round.

This kind of circle does not need to be measured. Just by observing it with the naked eye, you can tell that it is very round. Moreover, what is very surprising is that there are no potholes on it and the surface is extremely smooth.

Of course, this is easy to understand. Because they are too close to the sun, all meteorites are attracted by the sun's gravity and fall to the sun, so naturally they will not harm Vulcan.
Chapter completed!