The Story of the Planet
Around Christmas last year, the “Planet Parade”, a celestial show in which all seven planets other than Earth + the Moon in the solar system can be seen side by side at once in the evening sky, was in the news. Some of you may have actually seen it. In fact, in June of last year, we had the opportunity to see all the planets in the morning sky, which is very rare, and the next chance for us to see this celestial show in light equipment will not come until 2061.
When I talk about things like this, this is what always catches my attention.
I learned “~Wed, Fri, Earth, Fire, Thu, Earth, Heaven, Sea, and Darkness~♪” while singing when I was in elementary school. But Pluto doesn’t appear in the recent “solar system planets” category. “Where the hell did Pluto go?”
In the anime “Galaxy Express 999” written by Leiji Matsumoto, there was also an episode of “Pluto”. Pluto is the star where people who have obtained the body of an immortal machine leave their original living body immersed in ice. It was depicted as a cold, icy planet farthest from the Sun.
On the other hand, the famous suite “THE PLANETS” (planets) by Holst (British composer 1874~1934) does not contain “Pluto (Pluto)” because it had not yet been discovered at the time of composition (1914~1916) (incidentally, the reason why there is no “Earth” is that it is a work written from the perspective of astrology, not astronomy). After Pluto was discovered, Holst apparently tried to add it as the eighth song to the suite, but he fell ill before it could be completed. Complemented by other composers who followed his legacy, “Pluto” was released as “THE PLANETS ~ With Pluto”.
By the way Japan people especially love the melody of the chorus of the fourth movement “Jupiter (Jupiter)” in this suite, but this is thanks to the singer Ayaka Hirahara. But in fact, Holst himself arranged this melody as a song, and in England, it is often sung and loved at ceremonies.
Pluto was first discovered by American astronomer Clyde William Tombaugh in 1930. It was registered as the ninth planet of the solar system. At that time, astronomical observation technology was still immature, so it was considered to be a celestial body with a mass equivalent to that of the Earth, but in recent years, it was found that it was actually smaller than the “Moon”, and the evaluation was revised downward.
In 2006, when the definition of “planet” was clearly defined at the General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union, Pluto, which did not meet the new criteria, was removed and downgraded to a dwarf planet. Therefore, the number of planets in the solar system has decreased from nine to eight.
Well, just the other day, I heard new news about the planets of the solar system.
It is said that 62 new moons were discovered at once on the sixth planet Saturn, and as a result, Saturn has returned to the planet with the most moons (145) in the solar system. “Returning” means that moons orbiting Jupiter are also being found one after another, and the two are always rivals (?) That’s why. There are currently 95 moons of Jupiter. Jupiter and Saturn are both huge gas planets, most of which are gas, and although their density is small because there is no earth, they have an incredibly strong gravity due to their enormity (Jupiter is 11 times the diameter and more than 300 times the mass of the Earth).
Therefore, Jupiter and Saturn are thought to have so many moons orbiting that they are not seen on other planets.
There is only one moon orbiting the Earth, Mars has two, and Mercury and Venus have no moons. The difference is obvious. And one more important story. It is thought that the strong gravity of Jupiter and Saturn attracts comets flying into the solar system and prevents them from colliding with the Earth inside. Without Jupiter and Saturn, which serve as shields, life might not have survived on Earth.
By Admin|2023-05-19|2023,News Release|