Exploring the planets is a fun activity. We still know so little about the universe that in many cases we can talk not about facts, but only about hypotheses. Planetary exploration is an area where major discoveries are yet to come. However, something can still be said. After all, scientific research on the planets of the solar system has been going on for several centuries.
In the photo below (from left to right) the planets Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars are shown in their relative sizes.
The assumption that there is a planet between Jupiter and Mars was first stated in 1596 by Johannes Kepler. In his opinion, he was based on the fact that between these planets there is a large round space. An empirical relationship describing the approximate distance from the Sun of various planets was formulated in 1766. It is known as the Titius-Bode rule. An as yet undiscovered planet, according to this rule, should be approximately 2.8 AU away. e.
Titius conjecture, discovery of asteroids
As a result of studying the distances of various planets from the Sun, carried out in the 2nd half of the 18th century, Titius, a German physicist, made an interesting assumption. He hypothesized that there is another celestial body between Jupiter and Mars. In 1801, that is, several decades later, the asteroid Ceres was discovered. It moved with amazing accuracy at a distance from the Sun, corresponding to the rule of Titius. A few years later, the asteroids Juno, Pallas and Vesta were discovered. Their orbits were very close to Ceres.
Olbers guess
Olbers, a German astronomer (his portrait is presented above), on the basis of this suggested that between Jupiter and Mars at a distance from the Sun of about 2.8 astronomical units, there once existed a planet that today has already broken up into many asteroids. She began to be called Phaeton. It has been suggested that organic life once existed on this planet, and it is possible that an entire civilization. However, not everything about the planet Phaeton can be considered as something more than just a guess.
Opinions on the death of Phaeton
Scientists of the 20th century suggested that about 16 thousand years ago the hypothetical planet died. Such dating causes a lot of controversy today, as well as the reasons that led to the catastrophe. Some scientists believe that Jupiter's gravity caused Phaeton's destruction. Another suggestion is volcanic activity. Otheropinions related to a less traditional view - a collision with Nibiru, whose orbit passes just through the solar system; as well as thermonuclear war.
Life on Phaeton?
It is difficult to judge whether there was life on Phaeton, since even the existence of this planet itself is difficult to prove. However, scientific studies over the past century show that this may be true. Humberto Campins, an astronomer at the University of Central Florida, told the Department of Planetary Science's annual conference that his team had found water on asteroid 65 Cybele. According to him, this asteroid is covered on top with a thin layer of ice (several micrometers). And traces of organic molecules were found in it. In the same belt, between Jupiter and Mars, is the asteroid Cybele. Water was found a little earlier on 24 Themis. On Vesta and Ceres, large asteroids, it has also been found. If it turns out that these are fragments of Phaeton, it is likely that organic life was brought to Earth from this planet.
Today, the hypothesis that the planet Phaeton existed in ancient times is not recognized by official science. However, there are many researchers and scientists who support the idea that this is not just a myth. Was the planet Phaeton? The scientist Olbers, whom we have already mentioned, believed in this.
Olbers' opinion on Phaeton's death
We already said at the beginning of this article that astronomers back in the days of Heinrich Olbers (18-19 century) were occupied with the idea ofthat in the past there was a large celestial body between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars. They wanted to understand what the dead planet Phaeton was like. Olbers still very generally formulated his theory. He suggested that comets and asteroids were formed due to the fact that one large planet shattered into pieces. The reason for this could be both its internal rupture and external influence (strike). Already in the 19th century, it became clear that if this hypothetical planet existed long ago, then it must have been significantly different from gas giants such as Neptune, Uranus, Saturn or Jupiter. Most likely, she belonged to the terrestrial group of planets located in the solar system, which include: Mars, Venus, Earth and Mercury.
Leverier's method for estimating size and weight
The number of discovered asteroids in the middle of the 19th century was still small. In addition, their dimensions have not been established. Because of this, it was impossible to directly estimate the size and mass of a hypothetical planet. However, Urbain Le Verrier, a French astronomer (his portrait is presented above), proposed a new method for estimating it, which is successfully used by space researchers to this day. In order to understand the essence of this method, a small digression should be made. Let's talk about how Neptune was discovered.
Discovery of Neptune
This event was a triumph for the methods used in space exploration. The existence of this planet in the solar system was first theoretically "calculated", and thenfound Neptune in the sky exactly where it was predicted.
Observations of Uranus, discovered in 1781, seemed to provide an opportunity to create an accurate table in which the positions of the planet in orbit were described at moments predetermined by the researchers. However, this did not work out, since Uranus in the first decades of the 19th century. constantly ran ahead, and in later years began to lag behind the provisions that were calculated by scientists. Analyzing the inconsistency of its movement along its orbit, astronomers concluded that another planet must exist behind it (that is, Neptune), which knocks it off the "true path" due to its gravity. According to the deviations of Uranus from the calculated positions, it was required to determine what character the movement of this invisibility has, and also to find its location in the sky.
French explorer Urbain Le Verrier and English scientist John Adams decided to take on this difficult task. They both managed to achieve approximately the same results. However, the Englishman was not lucky - the astronomers did not believe his calculations and did not start observations. More favorable fate was to Le Verrier. Literally the next day after receiving a letter with calculations from Urbain, Johann Galle, a German explorer, discovered a new planet in the predicted place. So, "at the tip of a pen," as they usually say, on September 23, 1846, Neptune was discovered. The idea of how many planets the solar system has was revised. It turned out that there are not 7 of them, as was previously thought, but 8.
How Le Verrier determined the mass of Phaeton
UrbainLe Verrier used the same method to determine the mass of a hypothetical celestial body, which Olbers spoke of. The mass of all asteroids, including those not yet discovered at that time, could be estimated using the magnitude of the perturbing effects that the asteroid belt had on the movements of Mars. In this case, of course, the entire set of cosmic dust and celestial bodies that are in the asteroid belt will not be taken into account. It is Mars that should be considered, since the impact on the giant Jupiter of the asteroid belt was very small.
Leverrier started exploring Mars. He analyzed the inexplicable deviations observed in the movement of the perihelion of the planet's orbit. He calculated that the mass of the asteroid belt should be no more than 0.1-0.25 of the Earth's mass. Using the same method, other researchers in subsequent years came up with similar results.
Studying Phaeton in the 20th century
A new stage in the study of Phaeton began in the middle of the 20th century. By this time, detailed results of the study of various types of meteorites had appeared. This allowed scientists to obtain information about what structure the planet Phaethon could have. In fact, if we assume that the asteroid belt is the main source of meteorites falling on the earth's surface, it will be necessary to recognize that the hypothetical planet had a shell structure similar to that of the terrestrial planets.
The three most common types of meteorites - iron, iron-stone and stone - indicate that in Phaeton's bodycontains a mantle, a crust, and an iron-nickel core. From different shells of the planet, which once broke up, meteorites of these three classes were formed. Scientists believe that achondrites, so reminiscent of the minerals of the earth's crust, could well have formed precisely from Phaeton's crust. Chondrites may have formed from the upper mantle. Iron meteorites then appeared from its core, and from the lower layers of the mantle - iron-stony.
Knowing the percentage of meteorites of various classes that fall on the earth's surface, we can estimate the thickness of the crust, the size of the core, as well as the overall size of a hypothetical planet. The planet Phaeton, according to such estimates, was small. Its radius was about 3 thousand km. That is, it was comparable in size to Mars.
Pulkovo astronomers in 1975 published the work of K. N. Savchenko (years of life - 1910-1956). He argued that the planet Phaeton in its mass belongs to the terrestrial group. According to Savchenko's estimates, it was close in this respect to Mars. 3440 km was its radius.
There is no consensus among astronomers on this issue. Some, for example, believe that only 0.001 of the Earth's mass is estimated to be the upper limit of the mass of small planets located in the asteroid ring. Although it is clear that over the billions of years that have passed since the death of Phaethon, the Sun, the planets, as well as their satellites, have attracted many of its fragments to themselves. Many of Phaeton's remains have been crushed into space dust over the years.
Calculations show that the giant Jupiter has a large resonant-gravitational effect, due towhich a significant number of asteroids could be thrown out of orbit. According to some estimates, immediately after the disaster, the amount of matter could be 10 thousand times greater than today. A number of scientists believe that Phaeton's mass at the time of the explosion could exceed the mass of today's asteroid belt by 3,000 times.
Some researchers believe that Phaeton is an exploded star that once left the solar system or even exists today and rotates in an elongated orbit. For example, L. V. Konstantinovskaya believes that the period of revolution of this planet around the Sun is 2800 years. This figure underlies the Mayan calendar and the ancient Indian calendar. The researcher noted that 2 thousand years ago, it was this star that the magi saw at the birth of Jesus. They called her the Star of Bethlehem.
Principle of minimal interaction
Michael Owend, a Canadian astronomer, in 1972 formulated a law that is known as the principle of minimum interaction. He suggested, based on this principle, that between Jupiter and Mars, about 10 million years ago, there was a planet that was 90 times more massive than the Earth. However, for unknown reasons, it was destroyed. At the same time, a significant part of comets and asteroids was eventually attracted by Jupiter. By the way, according to modern estimates, the mass of Saturn is about 95 Earth masses. A number of researchers believe that Phaeton should still be significantly inferior to Saturn in this respect.
Assumption about Phaeton's mass, based on the generalization of estimates
So, as you can see, veryinsignificant is the scatter in the estimates of the masses, and hence the size of the planet, which fluctuate from Mars to Saturn. In other words, we are talking about 0.11-0.9 Earth masses. This is understandable, since science still does not know how much time has passed since the catastrophe. Without knowing when the planet broke up, it is impossible to make more or less accurate conclusions about its mass.
As is usually the case, the most likely is that the truth lies in the middle. The dimensions and mass of the deceased Phaeton could be commensurate from the point of view of science with the dimensions and mass of our Earth. Some researchers claim that Phaeton was about 2-3 times larger in terms of the latter indicator. This means that it could be about 1.5 times larger than our planet.
Refutation of Olbers' theory in the 60s of the 20th century
It should be noted that already in the 60s of the 20th century many scientists began to abandon the theory proposed by Heinrich Olbers. They believe that the legend of the planet Phaethon is nothing more than a guess that is easy to refute. Today, most researchers are inclined to believe that, due to its proximity to Jupiter, it could not appear between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars. Therefore, it is impossible to talk about the fact that once the death of the planet Phaeton occurred. Its "embryos", according to this hypothesis, were absorbed by Jupiter, became its satellites, or were thrown into other regions of our solar system. The main "culprit" of the fact that the mythical disappeared planet Phaeton could not exist, is thus considered to be Jupiter. Howeverit is now recognized that, in addition to this, there were other factors that prevented the planet from accumulating.
Planet V
Americans also made interesting discoveries in astronomy. Based on the results obtained using mathematical modeling, Jack Lisso and John Chambers, NASA scientists, suggested that between the asteroid belt and Mars 4 billion years ago there was a planet with a very unstable and eccentric orbit. They named it "Planet V". Its existence, however, has not yet been confirmed by any other modern space exploration. Scientists believe that the fifth planet died when it fell into the Sun. However, no one has been able to verify this opinion at the present time. Interestingly, according to this version, the formation of the asteroid belt is not associated with this planet.
These are the basic views of astronomers on the problem of Phaeton's existence. Scientific research on the planets of the solar system continues. It is likely, given the achievements of the last century in space exploration, that in the very near future we will receive new interesting information. Who knows how many planets are waiting to be discovered…
In conclusion, we will tell a beautiful legend about Phaeton.
Legend of Phaeton
Helios, the god of the Sun (pictured above), from Klymene, whose mother was the sea goddess Thetis, had a son, who was named Phaeton. Epaphus, the son of Zeus and a relative of the protagonist, once doubted that Helios was really the father of Phaethon. He got angry with him and askedhis parent to prove that he is his son. Phaeton wanted him to let him ride his famous golden chariot. Helios was horrified, he said that even the great Zeus was not able to rule it. However Phaeton insisted and he agreed.
The son of Helios jumped on the chariot, but could not rule the horses. Finally he released the reins. The horses, sensing freedom, rushed even faster. They either swept very close above the Earth, then rose to the very stars. The earth was engulfed in flames from the descending chariot. Entire tribes perished, the forest burned. Phaeton in thick smoke did not understand where he was going. The seas began to dry up, and even sea deities began to suffer from the heat.
Then Gaia-Earth exclaimed, turning to Zeus, that everything would soon turn into primal chaos again, if this continued. She asked to save everyone from death. Zeus heeded her prayers, waved his right hand, threw lightning and put out the fire with her fire. The chariot of Helios also perished. The harness of the horses and its fragments are scattered across the sky. Helios, in deep sorrow, closed his face and did not appear all day in the blue sky. The earth was lit only by the fire from the fire.
