5 ms·
Another novice here, but every time the matter of dark matter comes up I remember this story. Almost 2 centuries ago astronomers found that the orbit of Mercur
by nodja 5y ago
Another novice here, but every time the matter of dark matter comes up I remember this story.
Almost 2 centuries ago astronomers found that the orbit of Mercury didn't make sense according to Newton's laws, laws which were at the time considered infallible. The astronomers only explanation was that there was a planet closer to the sun that we couldn't see, they believed this so much that they even named the planet Vulcan and spent many years searching for it.
Turns out that there was no Vulcan and general relativity explains the discrepancy in the orbit of Mercury.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vulcan_(hypothetical_planet) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vulcan_(hypothetical_planet)
- wongarsu 5y agoAnother important part of the story is that a central figure in this was Urbain Le Verrier, who just a couple of years earlier had predicted the orbit of a planet based on the orbit of Uranus being a bit weird. That planet was found and named Neptune. That discovery made both Le Verrier and the world at large very excited, and the race to repeat that feat lead to everyone jumping to conclusions about Vulcan. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discovery_of_Neptune https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discovery_of_Neptune
- gpderetta 5y agoSometimes you look for a missing planet (Vulcan) and turns out the theory is wrong. Sometimes you look for a missing particle to carry away momentum and indeed it is there (the Neutrino).