A detailed list of volcanoes around the planet. Where is the southernmost active volcano on Earth? "Discovery" of a new planet

100 great mysteries of astronomy Volkov Alexander Viktorovich

Does the planet Vulcan exist?

A century and a half ago, the planet Vulcan was discovered, whose orbit was located between Mercury and the Sun. Subsequently, Albert Einstein proved that this celestial body should not exist. However, more than half a century later, the planet Vulcan appeared in the popular television series Star Trek. Is her mystery still not solved? The mystery of this hypothetical planet, discovered at the tip of a pen by an astronomer who had previously become famous for another similar prediction?

So, in 1846, the French scientist Urbain Jean Joseph Le Verrier, having studied the peculiarities of the movement of Uranus, calculated the orbit and position of the neighboring planet, which was not yet known, which was called Neptune. A few years later, his attention was drawn to some oddities in the behavior of the planet closest to the Sun - Mercury. Its orbit was not at all perfectly elliptical. This means that, having completed a revolution around the Sun, Mercury did not return to its starting point. In other words, with each new revolution its perihelion, that is, the point of its orbit closest to the Sun, shifted slightly.

The French mathematician Le Verrier, studying the deviations of the orbit of Mercury, suggested the existence of a planet, which he gave the name “Vulcan”

A similar phenomenon is typical for all planets in the solar system. It is caused by the attraction of nearby celestial bodies. In the case of Mercury, it is “pulled” towards itself by Venus, Earth, Mars and Jupiter. The perihelion point slowly rotates around the Sun (today it is known that it completes a full revolution in more than 225 thousand years). Over one century, the rotation of perihelion is 574 arc seconds (in one degree - 3600 arc seconds). However, if we take into account the influence of the known planets - and Le Verrier meticulously noted all the positions of perihelion - then this value should be equal to 531 seconds. Strangely, the perihelion of Mercury “ran” forward by 43 seconds every hundred years.

Apparently, somewhere nearby, between Mercury and the Sun, there was another planet that had not yet been discovered. The famous astronomer named this celestial body, literally bathed in solar fire, “Vulcan” in honor of the Roman god of fire. (To be fair, it must be said that the results of the calculations carried out by Le Verrier were, in today’s opinion, not entirely accurate, but they correctly conveyed the essence of the phenomenon - an inexplicable shift in the perihelion).

Le Verrier published the results of his calculations in September 1859, and soon after, the French physician and amateur astronomer Edmond Lescarbault told him that on March 26, 1859, he saw a round black spot on the Sun, which in just 75 minutes moved to a distance exceeding a quarter of the solar diameter . Le Verrier went to his correspondent and got acquainted with the information he had collected. This allowed him to determine that the unknown planet revolved around the Sun in 19 days and 7 hours. Its average distance from the Sun was 21 million kilometers, equal to about a third of the radius of Mercury's orbit, and its mass was 17 times less than its mass. Le Verrier became convinced that the planet discovered by his colleague was too small to explain the features of Mercury's orbit. However, it could be only one of several planets located near the Sun.

Other astronomers also responded to this event. Thus, researcher from Zurich Rudolf Wolf reported his observations. This allowed Le Verrier to discover two more small planets near the Sun. The circulation period of one of them was 26 days, and the second – 38 days.

The New Year of 1860 was supposed to be a triumph for the French master. He was sure that during the full solar eclipse, which was expected in Spain, these planets discovered by calculations could finally be seen, but this did not happen. Is it really a fiasco?

A debate ensued among astronomers. Some still mistook any suspicious spots on the Sun for a mysterious planet that had passed the solar disk, while others denied its right to exist.

Until his death in 1877, Le Verrier was convinced that the planet Vulcan could be found. However, after many years of unsuccessful searches, most astronomers have lost faith in this.

The riddle of the planet Vulcan was finally solved on November 18, 1915. It was on this day that Albert Einstein published his explanation for the strange behavior of Mercury. What seemed incomprehensible from the point of view of Newtonian mechanics found its interpretation as soon as one turned to the general theory of relativity.

According to it, the Sun “curves” space and distorts the orbits of planets. If we describe the movement of Mercury in Euclidean space according to Newton's laws of mechanics, it seems that it is moving too fast. However, if we turn to non-Euclidean geometry and Einstein's theory, the strangeness disappears. The difference in these calculations is the same 43 arc seconds that prompted Le Verrier to come up with the planet Vulcan. Now she had to be written off as unnecessary.

On a short time interest in Le Verrier's hypothesis awoke in 1970, when, during a total solar eclipse, some researchers discovered some strange, faintly luminous objects in the vicinity of the Sun. Astronomers later suggested that these were comets.

So, in the 19th and 20th centuries, researchers observed the planet Vulcan more than once, and now it is unlikely that they will be able to establish what they actually saw. Some "observations" could be explained by a simple defect in the optics. Even a bird flying in the distance could be mistaken for a planet. However, there is a known case when, on the same day, two astronomers living in different cities noticed, independently of each other, an object that was moving across the disk of the Sun. Perhaps it was an asteroid, although science still does not know of a single reliably confirmed case of an asteroid passing across the solar disk.

The planet Vulcan has disappeared from the annals of astronomy to give way to... a whole scattering of planets that deserve the same name. Enthusiasts continue to search for “volcanoids” - small planets whose orbits may be located inside the orbit of Mercury.

In principle, astronomers have no doubt that some asteroids may be found between Mercury and the Sun. It is known that in the distant past, Mercury was subjected to “formal bombardment” - numerous craters left on its surface after the fall of large meteorites remind us of that time. Perhaps the reason for this “shelling” was the proximity to the asteroid belt. Since then, this cluster of small planets has obviously thinned out considerably, but perhaps several of these planets are still circling the Sun in close proximity to it?

So what do we know about vulcanoids, even if we have not yet been able to detect them? Obviously, these are very small planets, not exceeding fifty kilometers in diameter. Larger celestial bodies orbiting near the Sun would certainly be noticed by the SOHO solar observatory. The distance at which they should be looked for is also known. Probably, the belt of circumsolar asteroids, if any, is located in the range of 0.15-0.18 astronomical units from the Sun, that is, almost next to it. Their surface temperatures are expected to be between 700 and 900 Kelvin. However, despite persistent searches, within the orbit of Mercury it has so far been possible to notice only individual asteroids, which, moving along very elongated trajectories, for some time approached the Sun closer than this planet. To where they would meet the Vulcanoids? Or not?

This text is an introductory fragment.

Volcanoes are geological formations on the surface of the earth's crust where magma comes to the surface, forming lava, volcanic gases, rocks and pyroclastic flows. The word “Vulcan” comes from the name of the ancient Roman god of fire, Vulcan. There are several thousand volcanoes on earth, more than 500 of which are active. In our list we will talk about the 11 largest and high volcanoes planets.

11

Tajumulco is a volcano in western Guatemala. It has an altitude of 4220 meters, is part of the Sierra Madre de Chiapas burrow system and the highest point in Guatemala and Central America. The volcano cone has two peaks; the eastern cone is ancient with a crater with a diameter of about 70 meters, the western one is young. On the slopes there are oak trees pine forests, in the upper part there are xerophytic mountain meadows. There is several evidence of its eruptions in historical times, but none of them are reliably confirmed.

10

The volcano in Washington state, 4392 meters high, is located 88 kilometers from Seattle in Pierce County. Rainier is a dormant stratovolcano, but there is evidence of volcanic activity from 1820 to 1894. Today, according to the USGS, in the event of a strong eruption, about 150 thousand people could be in danger. Rainier is one of the most glacier-rich mountains in the world, on the slopes of which are the sources of many rivers. Up to a height of 2500 meters the volcano is covered coniferous forests, above - alpine meadows, above 2800 meters - glaciers and eternal snow. On the peaks there are 40 glaciers with an area of 87 km², the largest of which is Emmons - 14 km². The volcano and surrounding area are protected and have the status of Mount Rainier National Park.

9

Klyuchevskaya Sopka - active volcano in the east of Kamchatka, whose age is about 7000 years. It has a height of 4850 meters, a crater diameter of 1250 meters and a crater depth of 340 meters. It is the highest active volcano on the Eurasian continent. It is a regular cone with 70 side cones, domes and craters. Despite the high altitude of the volcano, there is no snow or glaciers on it. This is caused by active volcanic activity. Klyuchevskoy volcano was formed only due to summit eruptions. Over 270 years, more than 50 strong eruptions occurred. During the 2004-2005 eruption, the ash column reached a record height of 8,000 m.

8

It is the highest active volcano of the Andean volcanic belt at 40 km north of the city Manizales. Nevado del Ruiz is located within the Los Nevados National Park and is part of the Ruiz Tolima massif and includes a group of five snow-capped volcanoes: Tolima, Santa Isabel, Quindia and Machin. The Cordillera is located at the intersection of four deep faults that are still partially active. The top of the volcano is covered by large glaciers, but they are rapidly retreating thanks to global warming. This volcano has been active for about 2 million years. Its relatively minor eruption in 1985, after a 150-year period of inactivity, almost completely destroyed and cut off the town of Armero from the outside world and led to the death of 23 thousand of its inhabitants.

7

Seventh place in the list of most large volcanoes world occupied by this active stratovolcano in South America. Sangay is located in Ecuador, on the eastern slope of the Andes and has three craters. The height above sea level is 5230 meters. A young cone rises above the ancient volcano, cut by deep gorges. Almost continuously since 1728, the volcano emitted steam and ash, covering the surrounding area. The volcano is believed to have formed about 14,000 years ago. Last eruption it was in 2007. At the top there is eternal snow.

6

Popocatepetl is an active volcano and the second highest mountain in Mexico, with an altitude of 5426 meters. The name comes from two words in the Nahuatl language: popo - “smoking” and tepetl - “hill”. There are three state capitals around the volcano - Puebla, Tlaxcala and Mexico City, with general population more than 20 million people. The volcano has a perfect conical shape, a very deep oval crater, with almost vertical walls. Most eruptions over the past 600 years have been relatively weak. In September 2006, the volcano resumed activity, with periodic ash emissions over the volcano's crater.

5

Peak Orizaba is the most high mountain Mexico and the third highest in North America. Its height is 5636 meters. Difficult terrain, significant altitude above sea level, strong winds - all this caused the presence of several climatic zones on the volcano. If tropical vegetation can be observed at the foot of the eastern side of the volcano, then at more high levels the vegetation is more similar to alpine. And to the south and southeast lie large fields small cinder cones and maars - funnel-shaped depressions that appeared during the explosion of gases, up to 300–400 m deep and exceeding 3 km in diameter. Although Orizaba has fallen asleep since the last volcanic eruption occurred in 1687, he can suddenly awaken and show his hot temper.

4

Volcano in South America in the territory southern Peru, whose height is 5822 meters, and the top is covered with snow only in winter. 17 km to the west is Peru's second largest city, Arequipa, with a population of about 1 million people. The volcano has three concentric craters. Fumarole activity can be observed in the inner crater. Geological studies indicate that El Misti has had 5 weak eruptions over the past hundred years. In the 15th century, a strong volcanic eruption forced the residents of the city of Arequipa to flee. The last weak eruption was recorded in 1985.

3

Third most big volcano on the planet is the Cotopaxi volcano. This volcano is located in Ecuador and is the highest active volcano in the country, its height is 5911 meters. The area at the base is 16 km by 19 km, and the top, starting at an altitude of 5200 meters, is covered with an ice cap. The icy crater of the volcano reaches a diameter of about 800 meters, and in the lower part there is peculiar vegetation - mountain meadows and pine forests with mosses and lichens. Since 1738, Cotopaxi has erupted about 50 times.

2

This extinct volcano is part of the Cordillera Oxidetal range and the highest point in Ecuador. Its height is 6267 meters, and it was formed about 60 million years BC. The top of the volcano is completely covered with ice, in some places falling to a height of 4600 m. Melt water from the mountain is the main water resource for residents of the provinces of Bolivar and Chimborazo. Today, the top of this volcano is the most distant point on its surface from the center of the Earth. The last volcanic eruption occurred around 550 AD.

1

The largest volcano on the planet is an active volcano in the Western Cordillera of the Andes, on the border of Chile and Argentina - Llullaillaco. The height of this giant is 6739 meters. At the top there is eternal glaciation. Located in one of the driest places in the world - the Atacama Desert, the snow line on the western slope exceeds 6.5 thousand meters. Llullaillaco is also a famous archaeological site - in 1999, the mummified bodies of three Inca children, believed to have been sacrificed 500 years ago, were discovered on its summit.

10 biggest and dangerous volcanoes on the ground.

A volcano is a geological formation that arose due to the movement of tectonic plates, their collision and the formation of faults. As a result of collisions between tectonic plates, faults form and magma comes to the surface of the Earth. As a rule, volcanoes are a mountain at the end of which there is a crater, which is where lava comes out.

Volcanoes are divided into:

- active;
- sleeping;
- extinct;

Active volcanoes are those that erupted in the near future (approximately 12,000 years)
Dormant volcanoes are volcanoes that have not erupted in the near future, but their eruption is practically possible.
TO extinct volcanoes include those that have not erupted in the near future, but the peak has the shape of a crater, but such volcanoes are unlikely to erupt.

List of the 10 most dangerous volcanoes on the planet:

1. (Hawaiian Islands, USA)

Located in the islands of Hawaii, it is one of the five volcanoes that make up the islands of Hawaii. It is the largest volcano in the world in terms of volume. It contains more than 32 cubic kilometers of magma.
The volcano was formed about 700,000 years ago.
The volcano's last eruption occurred in March 1984, and it lasted for more than 24 days, causing enormous damage to people and the surrounding area.

2. Taal Volcano (Philippines)

The volcano is located on the island of Luzon, belonging to Philippine Islands. The crater of the volcano rises 350 meters above the surface of Lake Taal and is located almost in the center of the lake.

The peculiarity of this volcano is that it is located in the crater of a very old extinct mega volcano, now this crater is filled with lake water.
In 1911, the most powerful eruption of this volcano occurred - then 1335 people died, within 10 minutes all life around the volcano died at a distance of 10 km.
The last eruption of this volcano was observed in 1965, which resulted in 200 casualties.

3. Volcano Merapi (Java Island)

The name of the volcano is literally Mountain of Fire. The volcano has been erupting systematically for the last 10,000 years. The volcano is located near the city of Yogyakarta, Indonesia, the city's population is several thousand people.
It was the most active volcano among the 130 volcanoes in Indonesia. The eruption of this volcano was believed to have led to the decline of the Hindu Kingdom of Matarama. The peculiarity and horror of this volcano is the speed of spread of magma, which is more than 150 km/hour. The volcano's last eruption occurred in 2006 and claimed 130 lives and made more than 300,000 people homeless.

4. Volcano Santa Maria (Guatemala)

This is one of the most active volcanoes XX century.
It is located at a distance of 130 kilometers from the city of Guatemala, and is located in the so-called Pacific. Ring of Fire. The Santa Maria crater was formed after its eruption in 1902. About 6,000 people died then. The last eruption occurred in March 2011.

5. Ulawun Volcano (Papua - New Guinea)

The Ulawun volcano, located in the New Guinea region, began erupting at the beginning of the 18th century. Since then, eruptions have been recorded 22 times.
In 1980, the largest volcanic eruption occurred. The ejected ash covered an area of more than 20 square kilometers.
Now this volcano is the highest peak in the region.
The last volcanic eruption occurred in 2010.

6. Galeras Volcano (Colombia)

The Galeras Volcano is located near the border of Ecuador in Colombia. One of the most active volcanoes in Colombia, it has erupted systematically over the past 1000 years.
The first documented volcanic eruption occurred in 1580. This volcano is considered the most dangerous because of its sudden eruptions. Along the eastern slope of the volcano is the city of Paphos (Pasto). Paphos is home to 450,000 people.
In 1993, six seismologists and three tourists died during a volcanic eruption.
Since then, the volcano has erupted every year, claiming thousands of lives and making many people homeless. The last volcanic eruption occurred in January 2010.

7. Sakurajima Volcano (Japan)

Until 1914, this volcanic mountain was located on separate island in close proximity to Kyushu. After the volcano erupted in 1914, a lava flow connected the mountain to the Ozumi Peninsula (Japan). The volcano was named Vesuvius of the East.
He serves as a threat to the 700,000 people of Kagoshima City.
Since 1955, eruptions have occurred every year.
The government even built a refugee camp for the people of Kagoshima so they could find shelter during the volcanic eruption.
The last eruption of the volcano occurred on August 18, 2013.

8. Nyiragongo (DR Congo)

It is one of the most active, active volcanoes in the African region. The volcano is located in Democratic Republic Congo. The volcano has been monitored since 1882. Since the start of observations, 34 eruptions have been recorded.
A crater in the mountain serves as a holder for magma fluid. In 1977, a major eruption occurred, neighboring villages were burned by streams of hot lava. The average speed of the lava flow was 60 kilometers per hour. Hundreds of people died. The most recent eruption occurred in 2002, leaving 120,000 people homeless.

This volcano is a caldera, a formation of a pronounced round shape with a flat bottom.
The volcano is located in Yellow national park U.S.A.
This volcano has not erupted for 640,000 years.
The question arises: How can it be an active volcano?
There are claims that 640,000 years ago, this super volcano erupted.
This eruption changed the terrain and covered half of the United States in ash.
According to various estimates, the volcanic eruption cycle is 700,000 - 600,000 years. Scientists expect this volcano to erupt at any time.
This volcano could destroy life on Earth. Volcano- hypothetical inframercurian planet, one of the eight trans-Neptunian bodies introduced into astrological practice by the Hamburg School of Astrology of Alfred Witte. The ephemeris for Vulcan was calculated by Friedrich Siggrün, a colleague and student of Witte. The semimajor axis of Vulcan's orbit is 77.4459 AU. Circulation period - 663 years; annual shift - 0.33 degrees. The ecliptic latitude of Vulcan is considered to be permanently zero.

Modern astronomers reject the existence of any large inframercurian planet, but a number of astrological schools use Volcano in your work. At the same time, the opinions of astrologers who take into account the influence of Vulcan are divided into two main groups. Representatives of the first of them believe that Vulcan is not an independent planet, but is a symbol of the astrological influence of the solar crown, which differs from the influence of the center of the Sun. Astrologers of this group use Vulcan more often in their theoretical constructions than in practical work.

Representatives of another group of astrologers believe that Volcano- independent planet very small in size, and use one or another version of the ephemeris of this hypothetical planet. The astrologers of this group have not yet been able to reach a firm agreement regarding the position of Vulcan, its distance from the Sun and its orbital period.

E.B. Donat points out that Vulcan revolves around the center of the Sun with a period of 17 to 25 days and appears at a distance of 8 to 10 degrees from the Sun. According to calculations by L.H. Weston, Vulcan has an orbital period of 19.5 days and is removed by a maximum of 8 degrees from the Sun. Professor Weston based his conclusions on numerous purported observations of Vulcan by astronomers in the 19th and early 20th centuries. A full statement of Weston's theory can be found in the booklet "The Planet Vulcan", published by the American Federation of Astrologers in 1941.

Another researcher, Dr. D. Baker, proposed a different theory of Vulcan's movement. According to Baker, Vulcan is always located near Mercury, and when Mercury is more than 3 degrees from the Sun, Vulcan is on the same side of the Sun as Mercury, and when Mercury is located within 3 degrees from the Sun, then Volcano connects with the Sun. This concept is substantiated in Baker's book "Dictionary of Astrology".

In the Avestan tradition, the period of Vulcan’s revolution around the Sun is taken to be 40 days, and its maximum elongation is 13 degrees. It is characteristic that adherents of using Vulcan as an independent planet admit that Vulcan may never be discovered on the physical plane, but the existence of this planet on more subtle levels of existence still makes it possible to take into account its influence..

Modern English astrologer Raymond Henry identifies Vulcan with Black Sun of Mercury Astrological interpretation differs significantly from school to school. A. Volgin claims that the planet has an influence on “strange distressing phenomena” such as fires, kidnappings, rapes, attempted murders; it is associated with the combustion process (it is implied that it is Vulcan that provides not combustion, but the combustion process itself).

In the concept of esoteric astrology by A. Bailey, Vulcan is considered the esoteric ruler of Taurus and symbolizes the soul of the individual, inner, spiritual person;

Vulcan presides over the “forging” of this inner man. This planet also rules over peoples at a certain stage of embryonic expression of the soul, such as sex, and directs their actions, forging the instruments of war, when war and conflict are the only means by which liberation can come. Volcano also signifies the use of the mineral kingdom by man. Volcano According to E.B. Donat,

Volcano relates to the efforts used in achieving personal freedom, in struggle, in outbursts of love of freedom; in overcoming fears, in overcoming obstacles and feelings of dislike and hostility from others; in purification processes and the fight against significantly superior forces. In everyday life, Vulcan is associated with isolation, burning, paralysis, violent eccentricities, outbursts of anger, suppressed emotions and long hours of hard work. Vulcan openly states the naked truth to discard the husks of useless words, just as combustion purifies iron ore, turning it into pure steel., presumably controls dense durable materials - heavy metals,

minerals

. It is associated with those materials that are extracted from mines and mines. Volcano Donat points out that when trying to use the energies of Vulcan, crises often occur. Vulcan is the impulse that forces the master to work on his creations until a real masterpiece comes out of his hands. Only in this way can a person free himself from earthly limitations. Keywords for Vulcan: homelessness, pain, endurance, grief, burning, discipline, exile, blacksmithing, metallurgy, silence, lack, unloved person, injury, artisan, robots, creator, suffering, withering, tenacity, lameness. and interpret this planet as a harmonious fusion of opposites, forming the diversity of this world. The volcano is an ethical and aesthetic border that protects the world from spontaneous battles, a single moral agreement between people, rituals and cultural interaction based on the principles of equality and justice. This is the law of balance, which stands above the concepts of good and evil, and proportionality, which serves as the basis of beauty. This is art and a creator who dissolves himself in the world process of creativity, skill and a reality artificially created by man, made possible by mastering the element of fire, which in man himself symbolizes the energy of his instincts. This is an abstractly sublime reflection of life in thinking, a similarity between the very top and the very bottom, oneself and the other, external and internal, and the choice between them. This is a sphere where a person is independent from nature, from the struggle for existence, suffering and death; the utopia of his omnipotence and the free pursuit of his evolutionary path - on the first turn of the spiral of cultural development associated with the preference for a stable life within civilization.

L. Konstantinovskaya suggests that planet Vulcan is still at the stage of formation and is formed only after approximately 30 billion years. Characteristics attributed to Vulcan: powerful, mature entity with cosmic consciousness, warrior, good physical health.

According to a number of meanings of Western schools, keywords for characterizing influence of Vulcan in the horoscope: according to E.B. Donat - information/coverage; according to W. Brewster - release of strength, power. Associated with Vulcan are such concepts as power over nature, enormous energy, power, influence, potency, superiority, intensity, undirected energy similar to a volcano. Some sources indicate that the abode of Vulcan is in the sign of Aries, and the sign of exaltation is Leo.

Volcano(lat. Vulcanus) - god of fire and patron of blacksmithing in ancient Roman mythology. Vulcan is often depicted with a blacksmith's hammer. The cult of Vulcan was accompanied by human sacrifices. Vulcan's festival, Vulcanalia, was celebrated every year on August 23, when the summer heat meant the greatest risk of barns and grain catching fire. During the festival, live fish or small animals were thrown into the bonfires that were lit to honor the god as sacrifices.

Volcano was the son of Jupiter and Juno. His wives were Maya (Maiesta) and Venus. The plot of Vulcan’s revenge on his wife for infidelity (Mars and Venus playing chess, Padovanino, 1530-40, Landesmuseum fur Kunst und Kulturgeschichte Augusteum, Oldenburg) has become popular in new European painting since the Renaissance. Vulcan made weapons and armor for many gods and heroes. His forge was located in the volcano Etna (Sicily). He created golden women to help himself.

He created lightning for Jupiter. According to myth, one day an angry Jupiter threw him from Olympus. Vulkan broke both legs and limped. The origin of the name is unclear. Roman scholars claim that it is related to the Latin words associated with lightning (fulgur, fulgere, fulment), which in turn are associated with flame. In ancient Greek mythology

the god Hephaestus corresponds to him. In the mid-19th century, precise observations of the movement of Mercury were made, and it turned out that the shift in the perihelion of this planet cannot be explained using classical celestial mechanics. French astronomer and mathematician Urbain Le Verrier suggested that this was the result of the influence of an unknown planet located between Mercury and the Sun. At the suggestion of physicist Jacques Babinet, a hypothetical planet Volcano.

given a name In 1859, Le Verrier received a letter from the amateur astronomer Lescarbo, who reported that on March 25 he observed a round dark spot similar to a planet moving across the disk of the Sun. Le Verrier immediately went to Lescarbot to personally question him about the discovered celestial body. In addition to Lescarbot's data, Le Verrier selected the results of five other observations, which, in his opinion, could not be attributed to cases of the passage of Mercury or Venus across the solar disk. Based on these six observations, he calculated the orbit of the invisible planet in 1859, which he called.

In 1877, Le Verrier died without waiting for the discovery of Vulcan, in the existence of which he believed until the end of his life. Then, during the eclipse of July 29, 1878, the ghost planet was observed by several astronomers at once. University of Michigan astronomy professor James Watson said he observed as many as two planets within the orbit of Mercury. Another astronomer, Lewis Swift, who discovered the comet named after him, also stated that he saw a luminous object similar to a planet. However, it turned out that the orbits calculated from these observations did not coincide either with each other or with the orbit once calculated by Le Verrier. Naturally, such observational results could not be taken seriously by the scientific community.

Despite many years of searching, this planet was never discovered. Several reports of observations of Vulcan were published, but these observations generally did not agree with each other or with Le Verrier's calculations, and other astronomers were unable to confirm them. At the beginning of the 20th century, the behavior of Mercury was fully explained by Einstein's general theory of relativity without introducing additional celestial bodies.

Because the planet Vulcan does not exist and this name is vacant, there was a proposal to name the satellite of Pluto discovered in 2012 “Vulcan”.

However, this option was rejected, since the mythological Vulcan was not directly related to the kingdom of the dead god Pluto, and the satellite was named Styx. Volcano in the eyes ancient man

looked like a real natural God who came to punish humanity for its sins. A huge mountain spewing waves of fiery water, destroying everything in its path and knowing no compassion. The crater of the volcano is an abyss into hellish hell. Getting there is a one-way ticket. There are many legends and tales around volcanoes; even now, when the nature of this phenomenon is known, and upcoming eruptions are predicted by scientists, we are unable to contain our inner trepidation before colliding with the fiery element.

It is not surprising that the most popular among tourists and the most famous in the world is the Vesuvius volcano. August 24, 79 AD he covered three cities in the Roman Empire with ashes: Pompeii, Oplontis and Herculaneum. The destructive power of Vesuvius was reflected in the works of such artists as Pierre Jacques Volard “The Eruption of Vesuvius”, Karl Pavlovich Bryullov “The Last Day of Pompeii”, and the English artist Joseph Wright witnessed the volcanic eruption and dedicated several dozen paintings to this phenomenon. Until now, this volcano is considered active and is located in Italy 15 km from Naples, reminding people of the dominance of the elements over man.

The most picturesque volcano

The Japanese volcano Fuji amazes with its beauty and harmony; its height is 3776 m (the highest high point Japan). The mountain has an almost perfect conical shape and is considered sacred place for the indigenous population. Since ancient times, Fuji has been depicted by Japanese painters, and in the era of digital technology, the Internet is replete with photographs of the volcano at sunset. On the top of the mountain stands a Shinto Great Temple Hongu Sengen. In 1974 Supreme Court Japan transferred the mountain as private property to the temple.

The most mysterious volcano

Volcano Bromo in Indonesia is shrouded in a veil of secrets and legends. The most common version is that during the Majapahit kingdom, a young princess, Raru Anteng, married a young man named Jaka Seger. The lovers fled from their father's house and established their kingdom at the foot of the Bromo volcano. For many years they had no heirs and then, in despair, they climbed to the top of the volcano and day and night they prayed to the Gods for help. The wise Gods had mercy on the king and queen and gave them children with the condition that they would sacrifice the youngest by throwing them into the mouth of a volcano. But the couple did not want to fulfill this vow and paid for it. The gods were very angry with them, and since then, every year people threw one child into the mouth of the volcano. Traditions and morals have changed, but even in our times, representatives of the Tenger Buddhist ethnic group make sacrifices to the gods in the form of rice, fruits and livestock.

Northernmost volcano

The northernmost active volcano on our planet belongs to Norway and is called Beerenberg, which translated into Russian means Bear Mountain. The top of the volcano is covered with a cap of ice and snow. For a long time, Bear Mountain was considered a dormant volcano, but on September 20, 1970, life suddenly “awakened” in it. The volcano released hot magma and ash into the air, putting the lives of 39 island residents at risk.

Tallest volcano

The highest volcano on Earth, Ojos del Salado, is located on the border of Argentina and Chile, its height is 6893 m. In its entire history, the volcano has not had a single eruption, but emissions of sulfur and water vapor into the atmosphere were recorded. The conquest of the volcano took place in 1937 by Polish climbers, but the path to the top of the volcano was difficult and dangerous. On April 21, 2007, the Chilean athlete Gonzalo Bravo managed on a modified Suzuki S.J. climb the slope of Ojos del Salado to a height of 6,688 meters, thus setting a world record for climbing for cars.

The most ancient volcano

The Brazilian volcano Zhamanshin deservedly takes the lead in the category among the oldest volcanoes. After much calculation and research, scientists were able to find out the approximate age of the volcano - 2 billion years. Despite its longevity, the volcano rises 250 meters above ground level. It has ceased to function for several million years, but in its “golden years” Zhamanshin was able to cover an area of 22 km around with ash and lava.

The most unusual volcano

The Dallol volcano, located in Ethiopia, amazes with its magical and inimitable appearance. The landscapes surrounding the volcano's crater are believed to be similar to the landscape of Jupiter's moon Io. And, indeed, such an abundance of colors cannot be found anywhere else on Earth. In 1926, a strong explosion occurred, which formed a lake of yellow and purple colors in the vicinity of the volcano. In addition to its uniqueness, the Dallol volcano earns another championship - the lowest volcano. The height of its crater above sea level is only 45 meters.

Text: Yulia Tsvetkova

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