The universe is so vast that it's easy to forget that we know so little about many things, even about our surroundings. Perhaps, there are also hidden objects in our solar system that have not been discovered. This view has sparked a craze for the hunt for missing planets or other planets. But finding a planet as massive as Neptune takes so long, is it possible to find more planets? Today, let's answer this very significant question: Is there a planet between Mercury and the Sun?
Vulcan ("Vulcan") appeared in Star Trek as the parent star of the character Spock. This hypothetical "planet nine" is even closer to the sun than Mercury. The planet is named after the Roman god Vulcan ("Vulcan") (corresponding to the Greek fire god Hephaestus). If the planet really existed, it would be particularly hot.
In the 19th century, many people were fully convinced that Zhu Rongxing existed. They believe that as long as people work hard enough, they can observe the transit phenomenon of the blessed star. This was not actually a non-mainstream view at the time. The planet was named after "Urbain Le Verrier", the Frenchman who was the most prestigious astronomer in the world at the time. In 1846, he discovered Neptune by studying the irregularities of Uranus's orbit and became a household name. His mathematical predictions about the existence of Neptune and its orbit were quickly confirmed by telescope observations. Le Verie studied Mercury in the same way and thought there must be another planet perturbing Mercury's orbit.
In 1859, an amateur astronomer contacted Le Verie and told him that he thought he had first observed the transit of a blessed star. When Le Weier heard about it, he immediately announced to the world the existence of zhu Rongxing. People began to observe the sun feverishly. Because if a planet like Zhu Rongxing is so close to the sun, it will complete a orbit around the sun once every few months, and people will have many opportunities to see it.
None of the sightings are credible, and many of them have been falsified by other astronomers. After Einstein published his theory of general relativity in 1915, the "Zhu Rongxing" theory was finally completely overturned. Prior to this, previous models of Newtonian gravity thought mercury's orbit was problematic. But Einstein's calculations succeeded in proving that Mercury's trajectory was exactly as expected, without interference from other objects, ending the search for Zhu Rongxing.
So, when these astronomers thought they had discovered a new planet, what exactly did they observe? Most likely are asteroids and comets. But interestingly, the solar system is surprisingly empty. It is suspected that Zhu Rongxing's discovery was actually an observational error, and that it was itself hypothetical. Since the hypothesis of the stars was proposed, no sign of their real existence has been found. However, that doesn't mean the planet doesn't exist at all. Due to the glare emitted by the Sun, we can only observe them on Earth at dusk or during a solar eclipse.
They may also be quite small in size, with a diameter of about 0.1-6 km. If we were a little larger, we could observe them at any time. In fact, there are some asteroids between Mercury and the Sun, but these asteroids are not entirely within the "Blessed Star Zone". People pay attention to Zhu Rong Star, not only to understand how Zhu Rong Star formed and evolved, but also to want to know more about the formation of the solar system. It is worth noting that zhu Rongxing is similar to the discovery of overseas celestial objects.
It wasn't until 1992 that we observed a second overseas object after the discovery of Pluto. With this in mind, we need not be discouraged, but should continue to look for them. But another problem in front of us is that if there is indeed no Zhu Rongxing, then is it necessary for us to continue to find it? We have observed that in other galaxies, the distance between exoplanets and their stars is closer than the distance between Mercury and the Sun, that is, the "blessed star zone" between Mercury and the Sun is surprisingly large. Scientists are also constantly looking for the reason, and one of the more plausible explanations is because of the presence of the solar wind.
Theoretical studies have shown that over time, propelled by the solar wind, starlets of either larger or smaller size will gradually drift away from the Sun. Depending on the size of the star, this process can take millions of years, but the solar system has only existed for 4.5 billion years, which is not a problem for the sun. Over time, larger stars are pushed away from the Sun, while smaller stars gradually move closer to the Sun due to gravity, eventually burning to pieces. If there were planets on the planetary ground, the solar wind alone would be able to make it barren. If the magnetic field of the planet's magnetosphere is too strong to retain the atmosphere that protects the planet, then the planet is no longer suitable for alien races. But being so close to the sun is bound to be more troublesome, and temperature is one of them. Mercury is hot and desolate because it is too close to the Sun, not to mention planets closer to the Sun.
Interestingly, however, Mercury does have deposits of ice at its poles. The discovery surprised many people who thought the temperature on the planet was too high to sustain the existence of ice. In addition, the deeper craters on Mercury cover these layers of ice, helping them withstand the effects of harsh temperatures. Meanwhile, Venus, a planet that is also closer to the sun than Earth, is also very hot for many reasons.
Sunlight hits the surface of Venus in the form of short-wave radiation, but because of its dense and thick atmosphere, it is difficult to reflect long-wave radiation, that is, it is difficult to dissipate heat, so it accelerates the greenhouse effect on the planet [1]. It is not yet possible to explain why this could not have happened to Vulcan in the same way, even though its poles are milder than Mercury' poles, but the gentle poles are unable to protect Vulcan from solar radiation.
On the other hand, the Earth's exposure to solar radiation has led to the emergence of a wide variety of cancers, and the closer it is to the sun, the more deadly the impact. Although a dense atmosphere can lead to an increased greenhouse effect, the thin atmosphere is not strong enough to withstand the effects of the solar wind and solar radiation. Although now, strong solar radiation is enough to affect the operation of our robots, here is an example, the robot used to probe the depths of the Fukushima nuclear power plant worked for a few weeks to fail. Maybe one day, under the development of science and technology, human beings may come to this planet to explore.
This doesn't bode well for the possibility of life on Vulcan itself, at least as we already know it. However, it is very likely that life will emerge that we do not know about, in the form of organisms, resisting the constant shocks from solar radiation.
On Earth, from plants to insects, we already have creatures that are born resistant to solar radiation. As an example, there are already many uranium mines in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, and wildlife here has also shown resistance to solar radiation. In addition, there are some common tardigrades that can withstand radiation energy below 5,000 Gy, such as tardigrades [3]. To know that 5 Gerry's solar radiation is enough to kill a human in two weeks, one Gerry means that each kilogram absorbs a joule of radiant energy [2]. No one knows what kind of strange aliens can live on planets with environments like Vulcan.
In the right environment, organisms like the slow-walking class are likely to become the host of microorganisms. But a complex organic life like Spock's can be difficult for it to deal with. Fundamentally, the solar wind is repulsive enough to push larger objects out and pull smaller ones in. This means that any planet that cannot find itself in this dangerous region will eventually be ostracized or destroyed. So if there is a planet between Mercury and the Sun, this will happen.
by：Fiat Lux，:-p，朵朵