My very eager mother just served us nine pickles. My very early morning jam sandwich usually nauseates people. My very enormous monster just sucked up nine planets. Any of these ring a bell [source: Teaching Ideas]?
Chances are, sometime in elementary school you were introduced to a mnemonic device to help you remember the order of the planets. Did you learn one with nine words? If you did, you're out of luck: Pluto is no longer one of the big guys. In 2006, the International Astronomic Union reclassified Pluto as a dwarf planet [sources: NASA, Teaching Ideas].
Astronomers, creating a new definition for a planet, determined that Pluto did not fit all three of the criteria for a prospective planet (it orbits the sun; is spherical; and is gravitationally dominant in its "neighborhood" -- Pluto failed the latter). The public was not entirely convinced, and there were protests: The definition had been developed quickly, and only a small number of professional astronomers had been consulted [sources: PBS, David].
Pluto's demotion and the subsequent controversy are not isolated incidents: Mankind's knowledge of astronomy has changed tremendously. Early insights were based on simple observations and conclusions. Mathematics improved understanding, as did the development of scientific instruments such as the telescope. Some modifications occurred hundreds of years ago; others are more recent (just ask poor Pluto). And not all adjustments were embraced enthusiastically. The following is a list of 10 beliefs about astronomy that have lost favor and are unsupported by the scientific community.
Based on new criteria for what constitutes a planet, Pluto was demoted in 2006 to a dwarf planet. It's just one of many astronomical revisions throughout history.
Image Credit: AP Photo
10. Vulcan: The Hypothetical Planet
Pluto was not the only planet to be enveloped in controversy. In 1846, mathematician Urbain Jean Joseph Le Verrier correctly predicted the existence of Neptune. He attempted to repeat his success again in 1859 by speculating that there must be a planet between the sun and Mercury, because Mercury's orbit altered after each trip around the sun. Le Verrier theorized that only another planet, which he called "Vulcan," could cause this disruption. (Newtonian physics was the convention of the day, and it could not account for the shift any other way.)
Try as they might, however, astronomers could not visually locate the hypothetical Vulcan. After the turn of the century, Einstein's General Theory of Relativity supplied an explanation for Mercury's inconsistent orbit: The immense gravity of the sun actually curved space, causing the change [source: Lienhard].
9. Bode's Law (aka Titius-Bode Law)
Scientists can be wrong about planets. How about another aspect of astronomy? For instance, the amount of space in space. How far apart are the planets in our solar system? Is it possible to predict the spacing mathematically?
In 1766, professor Johann Titius believed he observed a spatial relationship in the relative positions of the six known planets. This was defined in a mathematical formula by Johann Elert Bode and published in 1768. (Initially, Bode gave no credit to Titius.) Many of Bode's contemporaries attempted to determine the accuracy of the law. Although they never proved the law, their search did uncover several unknown asteroids.
Compared to what we now know about planetary distances, Bode's formula is close to being correct for the planets nearest the sun. The distance formula is highly inaccurate, however, for Neptune and Pluto. Another discrepancy was the formula's assumption that there was a planet between Mars and Jupiter. Though we now recognize the error of this hypothesis, it was not unreasonable at the time, given the available body of knowledge [sources: Cornell, Indermuehle, Stern].
8. The Steady State Universe
Another example of a "nice try, but no cigar" deduction by past astronomers is the "Steady State" universe theory. In 1948, Hermann Bondi, Thomas Gold and Fred Hoyle suggested that the universe had always existed and always looked essentially the same (a steady state). There was, they argued, no initiating Big Bang. As evidence of an expanding universe accumulated, the Steady State theory was able to account for this growth. The three scientists proposed that new matter was continually generated, filling the empty areas created by the increasing universe. Hoyle compared the universe to a tranquil river; fresh water flows in, but the river retains the same appearance [source: Center for History of Physics].
There was debate among scientists: Had the universe always existed or had there been a moment of formation? Was it a Steady State universe or one created by the Big Bang? During the 1960s, support for the Steady State theory declined. Evidence of remote galaxies was building, suggesting that segments of the cosmos differed in age. Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson identified microwave background radiation (radiation created from the Big Bang). The Steady State theory could not account for the creation of the universe and it was abandoned [sources: PBS, PBS, Koberlein].
7. Comets of Fire
Scientists may, at times, be mistaken about space discoveries, but there's a long tradition of misconceptions. Stargazers in ancient times tried to make sense of their observations, and many of their conclusions were accepted for centuries.
In western cosmology, for example, comets were believed to be balls of fire and were often associated with death and mayhem. The word comet derives from the Greek, meaning "long-hair star." Aristotle proposed that balls of gas within the Earth's atmosphere could ignite, resulting in a streaking orb of flame. This view persisted, seldom questioned, until 1577.
Astronomer Tyco Brahe finally determined, based on repeated measurements, that comets were located well beyond the moon. This led to our current understanding of comets as solid spheres of ice and dust orbiting the sun. When heated, some of the ice turns to gas, forming the surrounding bright cloud and streaming tail [sources: University of Tennessee, NASA].
Ancient stargazers thought comets were balls of fire, not the balls of ice and dust we know today.
Image Credit: AP Photo
6. The Shape of the Earth
Ancient civilizations had varying beliefs about the shape of the Earth. During the Shang Dynasty in China (16th-11th century B.C.), the world was pictured as a cross, with humans living in the center while the "arms" of the cross were spirit realms. Later Chinese came to view the world as a square -- similar to the Egyptians, who assumed mountains held up the sky at the four corners.
The ancient Hebrews saw the Earth as flat, which is alluded to in the Old Testament of the Bible. Babylonians viewed the world as hollow, with the inside space designated for the afterlife. Ancient documents suggest that, at one time, the Japanese believed the planet was floating on water.
Maybe you've heard the story that Christopher Columbus's men feared they would fall off the edge of the flat world. That tale is fabricated; by 1492, the notion of a spherical Earth was widely accepted [sources: Allen, Simanek, Seely]. In fact, with ever-increasing scientific and mathematical scholarship, the spherical shape of the Earth was conventional by 500 B.C. Aristotle supported this line of reasoning through observations such as Earth's rounded shadow on the moon during lunar eclipses. Attempting to measure the circumference of the Earth, he calculated it to be approximately 45,500 miles (73,225 kilometers) . During the next century, Eratosthenes, using a different method, arrived at 25,000 miles (40,233 kilometers), much closer to the actual distance (24,855 miles; 40,000 kilometers) [source: Simanek, NOAA].
5. Solar Eclipse
Imagine viewing a solar eclipse in the ancient world. How would you explain it? Perhaps fierce creatures initiated the transformation. The Chinese feared a dragon was devouring the sun, in Hindu mythology it was two demons and some South African tribes believed it was a crocodile. Viking lore tells of wolves chasing the sun and moon, ultimately capturing them.
Some found a less terrifying reason for the "disappearing sun." The sun and moon were in love and kissed, according to Australian tribes. Inuits imagined that the sun and moon traveled to Earth to monitor humans' lives. The occasional decay of the sun was accepted by Zimbabweans because it was resurrected in short order [sources: BBC, World News Australia, Telegraph, ABC News].
Now, of course, we realize that when the new moon passes directly between the sun and Earth, it casts a shadow onto the planet and blocks our view of the sun. Although a new moon occurs each month, its orbital pattern does not place it directly between the Earth and sun very often. A partial eclipse occurs, on average, just twice a year [source: NASA].
Some early astronomical theories had it that a solar eclipse was caused by a dragon devouring the sun.
Image Credit: AP Photo
4. Astrology
Astrology is an ancient system, proposing a connection between the movement of celestial bodies and humans' lives. At various points in history, civilizations across the globe have embraced the belief. Astrology continues to have followers worldwide; many find it scientific because it is connected to astronomy, it predicts occurrences and is supported by anecdotal evidence [source: Understanding Science].
Early criticism of astrology came from the United Kingdom's first astronomer royal, John Flamsteed, in 1674. After studying astrology for several years and investigating the birthdates of himself and his friends, Flamsteed concluded that astrology was, at best, vague and at worst inaccurate [source: The Scientific Exploration of Astrology].
Astrology is not supported by the modern scientific community because it lacks the essentials that define a true scientific field of study. Many astrological conclusions are so imprecise that they cannot be verified, and there is no process to modify any ideas that are proved inaccurate. The field of astrology, for its part, encourages review by the scientific community, supports research and encourages its practitioners to question their beliefs [source: Understanding Science].
3. Life on other Planets
Scientists are looking for life on other planets. Some hypothesize that as stars start to die and become red giants, their increased heat will be able to reach frozen planets nearby. These icy planets may "thaw," opening themselves up for the conditions to develop life. As our own sun begins to die, Mars might warm up enough to create and sustain life in some form. In 2009, NASA launched the Kepler mission, designed to located "Earth-like planets" orbiting stars outside our solar system [source: NASA].
In the past, some scholars believed that life existed on other celestial bodies within our own solar system. In ancient Greece, some followers of the philosopher and mystic Pythagoras (remember his theorem?) proposed that animals and plants similar to those on Earth lived on the moon. Those distant flora and fauna were supposedly larger and lovelier than their earthly counterparts. Moon animals were stronger, as well: 15 times more powerful. This ratio was selected, perhaps, because one moon day is equivalent to fifteen terrestrial days [sources: Allen, Fairbanks].
Such hypotheses were not confined to the ancients. Nicolas of Cusa, a German philosopher and Catholic cardinal of the 15th century, was considered a progressive thinker and diverse scholar. He proposed the possibility of mystical creatures living on the sun and insane beings ("lunatics") residing on the moon [sources: Stanford, Nicholas of Cusa]. And William Hershel, an eminent 18th-century astronomer and the discoverer of Uranus, suggested that life on the moon was likely [sources: NASA; Crowe].
2. The Geocentric Solar System: Earth as the Center
When ancients gazed at the sky, they saw heavenly bodies move above them. The sun appeared to rise in the east and set in the west. The stars moved in predictable paths. A pattern emerged as the moon appeared, disappeared and reappeared. A celestial sphere seemed to rotate around the Earth. Is it any wonder that our ancestors saw their planet as the center of the solar system? Great Greek philosophers such as Plato espoused the geocentric view; Aristotle and Ptolemy did likewise.
Aristarchus of Samos appears to have been the first scholar to have offered a heliocentric opinion -- that the sun was actually the center of the solar system (250 B.C.). However, it was not until Copernicus's influence in the mid-16th century that the heliocentric view became better known, though not widely accepted. Copernicus's conclusions, published in 1513, directly contradicted the tenets of the powerful Catholic Church, which had aligned itself with Aristotle's geocentric model. The Church banned the book about 100 years later, and the ban was not rescinded until 1835 [sources: Minnesota State University, University of Oregon].
Galileo supported Copernicus. He faced the Inquisition twice for his beliefs. The first time he received a warning to reject the Copernican view; the second time he was convicted, ordered to renounce his view and sentenced to life in prison. He lived out his final decade under house arrest. In 1992, Pope John Paul II declared that Galileo's conviction had been in error [source: NASA].
We realized long ago that the earth revolves around the sun, as shown here. But for a long time in history, science placed the Earth at the center of it all.
Image Credit: iStockphoto
1. 2012 Apocalypse
The ancients were not the only ones to misinterpret astronomical data. In recent times, rumors have circulated that December 2012 will mark the end of the world. Believers cite the end of the Mayan calendar as their proof, in conjunction with the position of the sun in relation to the rest of our galaxy. Fortunately for us, this evidence is based on a misunderstanding of both Mayans and space.
Just like our modern calendar, the Mayan calendar repeated, but not every 12 months; their cycle was 52 years. Extended periods were tracked with the Long Count: a bit more than 5,000 years. That era concludes in December 2012, but that's not the end of the calendar. Mayans marked even longer phases, extending far beyond that date [source: Cornell].
To contribute to the sense of doom, there is fear that the "end of the Mayan calendar" coincides with the sun, Earth and center of the Milky Way galaxy lining up. However, because of the movement of the sun and Earth, this occurs every December -- not just in 2012 -- without catastrophe [source: Yeomans].
There is undoubtedly still much to learn about space; more mistakes will be made. But, as in the past, astronomers will eventually determine the truth.
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