Vulcan | The Planet That Didn't Exist

I spend 40 minutes talking about literally nothing.
LINKS:
Twitter: / zepherusyt
Subreddit: / zepherus
Discord: / discord
SOURCES:
Books cited / recommended to learn more:
The Hunt for Vulcan by Ben Levenson
In Search of Planet Vulcan by Richard Baum and William Sheehan
The Ascent of Gravity by Marcus Chown
Le Verrier - Magnificent and Detestable Astronomer by James Lequeux
Eclipses, Transits, and Comets of the Nineteenth Century by Stella Cottam and Wayne Orchiston
Other non-book sources (limited selection):
Transferring scientific discovery to the public: The intramercurial planet Vulcan in 1860 by Hsiang-Fu Huang
When Lack of Evidence Is Evidence of Lack by Neil Pickering
Einstein's perihelion formula and its generalization by Maurizio M. D'Eliseo
mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk...
mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk...
www.space.com/6941-theory-gal...
www.fetedelascience.fr/qui-es...
plus.maths.org/content/changi...
www.iau.org/news/pressrelease...
www.iau.org/public/videos/det...
www.space.com/2791-pluto-demo...
www.nationalgeographic.com/sc...
as well as various records from CRAS and newspaper archives.
PHOTO CREDITS:
Algol Visualisation: • History and Future of ...
Eiffel Tower photo by Cristian Bortes, CC BY 2.0,
Image of Francois Arago by Charles-Jérémie Fuhr, CC BY 2.0,
(creativecommons.org/licenses/..., via Wikimedia Commons)
Video of 2017 Total Eclipse by Steve Sheridan, CC BY 3.0,
Statue of Le Verrier photographed by Mbzt, CC BY 3.0,
Sunset timelapsed by dejko611611, CC BY 3.0,
Paris Observatory photographed by Stéphane Touraine, CC BY-SA 3.0, (creativecommons.org/licenses/..., via Wikimedia Commons)
Sunset image taken by Dibyendutwipzbiswas, CC BY 4.0,
Photo of J. R. Hind provided by Wellcomeimages.org, CC BY 4.0,
Images of Laplace, Pascal and Hôtel des Invalides provided by Wellcomeimages.org, CC BY 4.0,
Video of 2015 Partial Eclipse by David Bucher, CC BY-SA 4.0,
(creativecommons.org/licenses/..., via Wikimedia Commons)
Blackboard texture created by benzoix - www.freepik.com
Pluto Protest image by Darren Phillips / Associated Press
...what are you doing down here? Nobody reads the description! :D

[@Titanic_401]

It's been 84 years...

[@drew5211]

Oh my god I’m a huge fan of you!

[@IapetusStag]

One Uranus year = 84 Earth years? Lol

[@FumblsTheSniper]

Is that a titanic reference? I know someone that worked on a Titanic “show and tell” style show in NW Australia. Yes, I am aware the titanic was never even in the pacific. It’s something I mean to ask “why?” next time I see the guy.

[@Xxsnipedawg72xX]

It's actually only been three hours mate.

[@spacedoutorca4550]

Hey titanic, how’s the bottom of the Atlantic been lately? Heard it’s quite cold.

[@DanjasLP]

The thing I find most impressive about all of this is the fact that the predicted drift of Mercury was spot on, they just lacked the knowledge necessary to explain it properly.

[@syncout9586]

Yeah. If La Verrier lived in a time when general relativity was known, he probably could've figured it out.

[@oliviapg]

Makes you wonder what people a century or two from now will think of some of our current scientific ideas which are basically just placeholders for things we don't know, like dark matter and dark energy

[@DanjasLP]

@@oliviapg It'll probably look exactly like what Vulcan looks like to us now.

[@lpfan4491]

@@oliviapg What is dark energy?

[@starlite5154]

@@lpfan4491 The currently unknown reason why the universe's expansion is accelerating

[@anotherexpansefan]

And then he left to never return, leaving me to watch the back catalog every few months wishing I could discover something more. You were the one who sparked my interest in history, science and architecture in general, and a lot of great things came out of that. You were doing something really great here, wish more people knew.

[@anotherexpansefan]

@@the_real_Kurt_Yarish I get that, I have been watching him for a long time. Haven't seen this big of a pause - maybe I'm mistaken tho. Regardless, will definitely watch whatever he posts next :D

[@the_real_Kurt_Yarish]

​@@anotherexpansefan Over three years passed between this video and his second-to-last one, "The Dreadnought Hoax". Nearly four years. We've only been waiting for the next one about a year and a half. It'll probably be a while longer before we see the next video, if the trend sticks. We'll see. I'm sure it will be worth the wait.

[@anotherexpansefan]

@@the_real_Kurt_Yarish same! We shall see.

[@masonmunkey6136]

This one took 4 years so... maybe in another 3?

[@michaelgrino708]

Another 3 should do

[@universalperson]

This reminds me of "Planet X", which was something I read about back in elementary school. Even after Neptune and Pluto were discovered, there were certain discrepancies in Uranus's orbit that couldn't be resolved. So obviously there was another planet! Turns out we got Neptune's mass wrong. Once that was corrected, Uranus's orbital predictions were immediately fixed.

[@titan-1802]

though, the Clustering of Many Dwarf Planets and Objects like Sedna where questioning, so there could be a Ninth Planet, not Pluto

[@bliss_gore5194]

like what @titan-1802 said, some still believe that there is still a planet 9 . As there are a bunch of objects in the kuiper belt such as sedna with ridiculously elliptical orbits that could go past 12000 years. But itd have to be so far away it is almost impossible to find it with telescopes even with a similar size to neptune, since you would have to look at a veeeeery large survey area

[@miscbits6399]

@@bliss_gore5194 Which is why mathematical predcition is so important It doesn't help that most stuff that's "not a planet" is _dark_ (ie: very low albdeo) on a dark background Hopefully Starship will allow more very large telescopes to be sent out to the lagrange points at costs low enough to dedicate one or two to intrasolar-system surveying (we need bigger scopes at L4 and L5 for solar surveying too - right now we don't have a good handle on CMEs) (TBH: Webb ended up costing so much and being so complicated that by the time of its launch the cost could have been halved by dumping what had been done so far and starting over - one of the problems of there "only being one" of anything is that everyone loads up an entire marching band and kitchen sink to its task list, which drives the costs into the stratosphere as well as impacting schedules)

[@arcadiaberger9204]

All of the "demoted planets" turned out to reveal something that was actually more interesting than just a new planet: for Ceres there's the Asteroid Belt, for Pluto there's the Kuyper Belt, for Vulcan . . . *_Relativity!_*

[@jojolafrite90]

Planet nine? Will it be debunked or has it really be detected? Will we learn something because of it?

[@j.t.buckley52]

@@allan9603 I think that plantologists should weigh in on the discussion. Isn't their job to study planets?

[@j.t.buckley52]

@@allan9603 They need to jump into lots of worlds

[@RafilaWan]

What do y'all have against educated astronomers lmao

[@LawrenceReamon]

Can we demote Saturn? Saturn is shit. I hate Saturn

[@horsepowermultimedia]

Pluto: Why am I not a planet anymore? :( Vulcan: Heh. Imagine not existing.

[@melezes9012]

Imagine

[@Grimerpr2016]

Lol

[@WheatDos]

Pluto: Who said that?!

[@gorillaau]

Pluto: Live long and prosper Vulcan: @#$% mutter, mutter

[@Hygix_]

Pluto be like: I had schizo

[@aringinspace]

I'm really curious about the "mysterious circumstances" under which Le Verriers rival drowned. Sounds really interesting

[@RideAcrossTheRiver]

Wine.

[@thecatalyst6212]

substance

[@sarahberkner]

I paused the video there and read the two paragraphs, it sounds like it was from natural causes but it was unusual because normally he had a rule never to go on a boat because both his brother and father had drowned, but the second time in his life that he did go on a boat it sank.

[@maestrofeli4259]

​@@sarahberknerthank you for your service

[@alicorn3924]

​@@sarahberknerdude's cursed what the heck?

[@blazicgd]

I like to imagine Vulcan used to exist, but collapsed into the sun before anyone could see it

[@lindseylindsey9200]

Science isn’t about what you “like to imagine”

[@mrswearsalot6864]

@@lindseylindsey9200 shut up

[@lindseylindsey9200]

@@mrswearsalot6864 No

[@mrswearsalot6864]

@@lindseylindsey9200 imagining could become a theory

[@lindseylindsey9200]

@@mrswearsalot6864 If they can produce evidence, then yes, it could.

[@Degenerate76]

Naming a moon of Pluto, surface temp -229 Celsius, after the Roman fire god would have been pretty silly tbh.

[@stinkynoodles8312]

maybe that roman fire god likes cold fires

[@scottydu81]

You really need a more fiery planet for that name

[@KyraWS]

@@scottydu81 maybe for Venus if one day she get a moon

[@Cordman1221]

And Venus, the Roman god of beauty, gets a blasted hellscape for a planet. At least Mercury and Jupiter are appropriate to their names

[@sticktheok]

@@Cordman1221 i mean venus is hot like venus

[@CrankyPantss]

Did Spock ever finally admit he was just flipping the planet's invisibility cloak on and off to mess with us?

[@codedemonia1921]

I love you

[@PeterSwinkels]

🤣

[@cedartheyeah.justyeah.3967]

Lol

[@austenhead5303]

Always a pleasure to encounter a fellow person of culture. *tips hat*

[@officialspock]

No, why would I do that, it got blown up

[@bingusbinted]

I remember watching this to help me fall asleep as a bg noise but I ended up watching the whole thing wide awake. The narration is easy to understand and the story is easy to follow. This video in particular is definitely up there with Lemmino as my top favorite space videos.

[@JaveriaYousuf]

i watched it to fall asleep, fell asleep, woke up and rewatching it the first thing in the morning.

[@slwrabbits]

I have the opposite problem; I am really fascinated by this but fall asleep partway through repeatedly.

[@DeadEyeJedi]

I remember when I was young, there was an entire episode of Arthur C Clarke's mysterious world devoted to Vulcan. His final conclusion was that 'Vulcan _may_ have existed, but if it did, it almost certainly doesn't any more. Nowadays, I think it's pretty absolute that it _never_ existed, but it was interesting how long the existence of this planet fascinated Mankind for... Edit: Found it! /watch?v=1-GQuOtu4S8&ab_channel=GoodOl%27Stuff

[@Zepherus]

Woah, surprised this passed me by. Thanks for letting me know!

[@eggyt1153]

You’re missing the first bit of the link

[@dooplon5083]

​@@eggyt1153that's intentional so that youtube doesn't mistake them for a bot, at least I assume it is

[@eggyt1153]

@@dooplon5083 ah

[@miscbits6399]

The question is mostly "when". If anything existed inside the orbit of Mercury it most likely ceased to exist long before life on earth figured out how to assemble blocks into eukarotic cells

[@jkel16]

"I spend 40 minutes talking about literally nothing." is the most British description ever. Commenting to help with the algorithm, and also say thanks. This is one of the best youtube videos I've watched in a while.

[@sedme0]

I dunno, Seinfeld wasn't a very British show.

[@jkel16]

@@sedme0 Have to admit I've not really got round to watching Seinfeld. If this is a quote for the show, Zepherus has used it in a very clever way, that sums up the British vernacular and our ability to be slighty self deprciating in a comedic way while making a statement with more than one meaning.

[@sedme0]

@@jkel16 Well, the thing about Seinfeld is that they say it's a show about nothing.

[@nunalunaberey_]

@@jkel16 Huh. I may have to move to Britain then because that’s basically my whole sense of humor. Add random obscure Star Trek references and you get me talking for 40 minutes about everything.

[@sixzerozero3187]

Space doesn't exist.

[@vlogoftea]

Does anyone else ever think how it's cool that stuff like this video exists, is free, and available for all of us to watch whenever we feel like it? I really appreciate this cool combination of technology that allows this kind of sharing in the first place, and the fact that a bunch of people are willing to put in a bunch of effort and dedication into it for no reason other than that they can and want to. Humans can be pretty freaking great.

[@thesnollygoster1]

well, i mean, youtube does make money off of ads, but yeah, it is really cool

[@ronjayrose9706]

Humans aren't that great

[@MyIncarnation]

@@ronjayrose9706 some are

[@real.sugarcone]

Honestly the best comment I've ever read ever.

[@leodouskyron5671]

Also, while good I have to say I do not accept everything we see on KZbin as real. I know they got this good soul got it right and there is evidence that this is good and real. But when you have seen all the FlatEarthers, gurus and sovcits you learn that have to do your due diligence and make sure that the video you see is worth your time. Being on KZbin does not make it real but getting it right makes it worth it. 👍🏿

[@Dr.Kay_R]

0:14 That protest board with _"Size doesn't Matter"_ made me chuckle.

[@blobofdespair]

This was outstanding. The timing, visuals, humor, etc. were such a perfect blend. I really enjoyed this topic because you made it fun to learn about. Really, really well done. I'm looking forward to looking into your archive as well as future content. Instant subscription.

[@RockinRobbins13]

I didn't know you existed. But if this is what your fans waited 3 years for, it was three years well compensated for. Thanks for a stupendous video!

[@RockinRobbins13]

@Magi Why can you post links but any post I publish with a link in it is deleted by Google?

[@colinbroadwater5926]

Absolutely, what an incredible video

[@ryshow9118]

This was suggested to me about a week ago and I'm just getting around to it. Just judging by the views already (about 2/3s of the last upload, I'd have to agree and I'm excited to dive in.

[@RabidlyTaboo]

@@RockinRobbins13 most likely on googles no share list. fb has one too. i tried to send a link to a friend for a black hat marketing site and it was deleted instantly with a warning.

[@RockinRobbins13]

@@RabidlyTaboo I can't share a You Tube video on a You Tube comments section. Hopefully they'll relax the craziness soon. This sort of thing has happened before and been corrected.

[@fard2780]

*_9:04_**_ "It is impossible to satisfy the conditions of uranus" i died in this part_*

[@fard2780]

*_10:24_**_ "Mercury was misbehaving, like uranus was."_*

[@secktuss9610]

"one day, i will be mature enough to not laugh at uranus"

[@eclipse0073]

@@secktuss9610 you will not outgrow the meme that is uranus

[@zenonkazienko988]

Glad I'm not the only one who almost died at this part

[@samsizer2919]

Grow up.

[@Krysstophe]

“He was vain, often arrogant, rude and was by most accounts a pretty difficult person to work with” Sounds like literally every university lecturer/professor I’ve ever known

[@mr.3piece875]

Sounds like my brother!

[@toddkurzbard]

Or liberal.

[@pianonian7314]

@@toddkurzbard there was literally no reason to include politics in this

[@lagronion]

@@pianonian7314 liberals live rent free in their mind, a fact that I suspect they arent all too happy about

[@friedkittens3004]

@@pianonian7314 triggered

[@fleurgymcheurgy9267]

Thank you SO MUCH for explaining why relativity was such a big deal in a way that I could understand, and for explaining its contents in a few sentences

[@sta1nless]

"You will see sir, that I demostrate it is impossible to satisfy the conditions of Uranus" 🤔

[@Auraborias]

Doctor is it that bad? Am I going to die?

[@MouldMadeMind]

@@Auraborias it feels good, but how does it feel for you?

[@slamsauce6848]

funniest damn thing I've heard all week

[@settratheimperishable4093]

That must surely mean thine willy is hopelessly too small for such an endeavor.

[@_JayRamsey_]

Don't feel bad Le Verrier, none of us will live to observe Vulcan either.

[@KenLinx]

At least he died with the prospect of it actually existing.

[@Grassdragon193]

This is my first Zepherus video, and it's extremely entertaining and engaging. I love how relaxed and conversational it was, while still having wit and playful callbacks. Time for an archive binge, you earned yourself a subscription.

[@eternalmiasma5586]

Miss this guy

[@alancrawford8749]

"Why is Uranus acting differently?" I'm a pathetically simple man.

[@willmfrank]

From Futurama: Farnsworth: "We changed the name of that planet." Fry: "What do you call it now?" Farnsworth: "Urectum."

[@EGRJ]

I gotta be honest, I admire his restraint. I would not have been able to resist at least one wink-wink nudge-nudge joke.

[@spacedoutorca4550]

“Like mercury, Uranus was misbehaving”

[@XthTerrorOfDeath]

"You will see sir, I will demonstrate that it is impossible to satisfy the [conditions] of Uranus."

[@Torgo1001]

You need more fiber in your diet.

[@PepperTheBirb]

And when the world needed him most... He returned.

[@FriscoDojenia]

What I was going to comment lol

[@1Steins]

the most overused comment on content creators that take a while to upload, sigh

[@PepperTheBirb]

@@1Steins I don't care

[@ZombieZen01]

@@1Steins True, but there’s content creators taking “a while” to upload, and then there’s Zepherus being gone for three and a half years.

[@internetrules8522]

Lol check out the top comment at 41:20

[@flicmydik]

Hope you're alright my dude

[@jhisk]

Even though this was uploaded 9 months ago. I was just so happy you updated. You always produce such quality content and it is hard to believe thay your initial videos were from 5 years ago. Power and I hope you are doing what you love.

[@LukeStephensTV]

Glad you're back, my man!

[@hydoffdhagaweyne1037]

Luke Stephans himself?😲

[@carlsoll]

Ma Man

[@marcgottlieb9579]

I hatee to inform him but finally the real planet Nibiru returned on time the day of the recent Mexico 7.2 quake...It however is not our current problem...The ancient planet that formed the asteoid belt, the Earth and moon and the waters above is over head as I type.Semidesrtoyed TIAMAT..Go to Hush Puppy planet x

[@HadenTrace]

@@marcgottlieb9579 you forgot to take your meds mate

[@wojak6351]

You should do a historical video next :)

[@willemdafuck8433]

THE RETURN OF THE KING

[@silverhowl9331]

The fact that nobody wants to name a celestial body in the universe “Vulcan” to ignore the non-existing planet is just stupid to me.

[@rin_etoware_2989]

Vulcan was reserved indefinitely, just in case there's anything closer to the Sun than Mercury is. these days, instead of a planet, the Vulcanoids are a hypothesized asteroid group whose mere existence or absence would provide tons of information about how the planets were formed.

[@silverhowl9331]

@@rin_etoware_2989 I would rather put that name on an asteroid than a planet then, you have a good take there!

[@leaffinite3828]

I mean who really cares what they call new planets anyway

[@Leadvest]

If people cared about naming planets Kepler 22b would probably have a cool name.

[@accelerationquanta5816]

Someone will name a planet Vulcan eventually.

[@swiftlyginger]

I wonder if any of those possible ‘sightings’ of Vulcan were actually stray comets or asteroids or something. An amateur at least may mistake one for a small planet. One time transits. Really interesting video!

[@sushanthadusumilli1067]

Problem is the transits were weirdly regular/irregular. Either the object was temporarily trapped for a specific amount of time and either eventually collapsed or slingshot into the darkness. Not all observations could have been fake. This is a really interesting mystery

[@wolfman83778]

@@sushanthadusumilli1067 I suppose there are two ways to answer this: Determine how likely such alignments are, or look at historical solar observations from SOHO or SDO to determine how often anomalous black spots transit the Sun. You would need some sort of computer program to thoroughly analyze the terabytes upon terabytes of data from decades of solar observation, but it's doable. You would think at this point someone would have looked into the matter, but if my personal research into other 19th century astronomical mysteries has taught me anything, it's that modern astronomy hardly cares about pre-astrophysics astronomy.

[@sirreginaldfishingtonxvii6149]

Man, poor haephestus. His planet doesn't even get to actually exist.

[@joanaguayoplanell4912]

Well, you can give the name to the gas Giant that crashed into the Sun in the early ages of the Solar System, courtesy of Jupiter (and this is the reason our star has those small rocky planets, they are essentially what would have been the moons of this missing planet). What better name for a planet that got burned away?

[@Hygix_]

@@joanaguayoplanell4912 which small rocky planet and gas giant that crashed into the sun you talking about?

[@jeffbenton6183]

@@joanaguayoplanell4912 There's also the hypothetical "Vulcanoids": en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vulcanoid

[@prestonjones1653]

@@joanaguayoplanell4912 Wait what?

[@joanaguayoplanell4912]

@@jeffbenton6183 the current knowledge of the formation of planets denotes that the combined mass of the interior planets is significantly lower than it should. There is also a zone in the Sun with abnormally low temperatures, relatively speaking. We also have proof that the four gas giants used to have very erratic movements during the aglutination process, and took a long time stabilize into their current orbits, and almost every single simulation shows Jupiter ejecting one of the planets in a practically random direction. Because of this the current theory is that there used to be at least one more gas Giant in the early stages of the Solar System, that got sent into deep space and/or into the Sun during those early gravitational movements.

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Welcome back!

[@yatokami7907]

Seeing KZbin channels I like to watch comment on videos of other channels I like to watch always feels so much more exciting than it actually is. Give me a crossover episode or something!

[@LeviathanRX]

How does this video rate on your astronomical scale?

[@playgroundchooser]

I like how he pointed out where Vulcan was on a map. 👍👍

[@nenmaster5218]

@@yatokami7907 My (arguably silly) Hobby is to recommend fun education channel like this one here to RANDOM people!

[@nenmaster5218]

@@yatokami7907 I legit just love to recommend science-channel or just general education also...

[@michaelgrino708]

My guy just left us again, never to be seen again.

[@hakenaton9031]

Wow I so enjoyed this video! I want more! The narration is clear, articulate, great rhythm, great voice, the content is accessible and still you get to learn a lot. I didn't feel that it was too long because I was riveted to my sit to know the answers to the questions covered. Outstanding. You get a new subscriber.

[@jxck_4q]

"Mercury was misbehaving like Uranus was, but in a slightly different way"

[@indfnt5590]

LMAO

[@mynicnic3735]

Context

[@Grieves0001]

When you Uranus starts to misbehave, maybe you should see a doctor.

[@walley2637]

and I can clearly see Uranus with the naked eye.

[@frankshailes3205]

Are you like 12 years old?

[@frenchfriar]

This was the most in-depth dive into the history of Vulcan I have ever seen. This has the quality of a National Geographic presentation. I would love to see you do another video concerning the other "ghost planets" of the system, like Phaeton or even Theia. Thank you so very much for this, subscribing off the strength of this one video.

[@minerscale]

Much much better than National Geographic because it's not talking down to me and the units are in SI.

[@chadcuckproducer1037]

Wasn't theia the planetoid that collided with the earth and helped form the moon?

[@chrisfreitag7259]

@@chadcuckproducer1037 its the leading hypothesis for our moon's formation. There are others but it is considered to be the most likely. If the hypothesis is true though then yes.. That is exactly what Theia is.. well.. was.

[@EspeonMistress00]

Or Planet X the 9th planet beyond pluto in the Kuiper Belt

[@dominiklehn2866]

@@EspeonMistress00 that one is still ongoing, so it's more difficult to find unbiased information. But it would be great to see one about planet 9 and/or even nemesis, the proposed red dwarf regularly bombarding the solar system with asteroids and comets by passing through the oort cloud

[@DrYazman]

This was absolutely awesome. A deep dive into an area of history I never heard of before. I love how you even went into the social movement of it. Great stuff.

[@Drakojana]

Man, I'm currently watching all of your videos. Your narration style is so good I wish you'd upload more often. But with this kind of quality, I'm willing to wait :) I hope whatever you have next in store is equally good!

[@somethingoldish7696]

This is such a well made video. I came here because of Star Trek, and left with knowledge I never would have learned otherwise. Wonderfully explained.

[@icecreamboy.3420]

Same! Saw this in a discord server and I'm 1 minute in. Hoping to see a Star Trek or Spock reference.

[@praisejesusrepentorlikewis6218]

Repent to Jesus Christ ““Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭19:38‬ ‭NIV‬

[@timmygaming8842]

dude same

[@AnnikaTrouble]

Me too!

[@MicheleDelGiudice-mykys]

This is the only star trek comment I saw.

[@MisakaMikotoDesu]

This is a fantastic essay on how some of the smartest experts can come up with the wrong answer even when they're doing good science.

[@johnbockelie3899]

"Mr.Spock, we can have you on Vulcan in a half hour." TMP ending if Vulcan was really there.

[@jlondon1441]

Most of science is guess and check. You can use reason and logic to help, but it usually takes a lot of wrong guessing to help narrow down the right one.

[@buckmurdock2025]

@@jlondon1441 Avtually, it takes new observations before science can guess again.

[@newburypi]

Yes. I've forgotten to add "insightful" to my list of praises.

[@fduranthesee]

Because “wrong” answers aren’t actually “wrong,” just “wrong” to another persons’ Opinion. Relativism and Subjectivism…

[@jadedragon1406]

I love this video so much. I've watched it the whole way through at least 10 times. Everytime it shows up in my recommended videos my immediate thought upon seeing the thumbnail is always, "Oh!! I love this video!" And when it starts up I always get really exicted to absorb all the information again and refresh all of it. I love this video.

[@eclipseslayer98]

Vulcan's just shy because so many people keep trying to spot him. There's a reason he mostly stays in his forge (the sun). He was just getting out for a bit to stretch his leg.

[@joelellis7035]

The good one.

[@AzureWolf3]

The title of the video grabbed me (yeah, I'm a Trek fan) and I only planned to watch a few moments of it...but instead I found myself engrossed in the history and the way you presented it and ended up staying all the way to the end. Very well done video.

[@NuisanceMan]

You weren't initially angry that they dared deny the reality of Spock's home planet?

[@Creativeaccount0]

Same. Trek fan here expecting someone to explain why "Vulcan has no moon," or something else about the fictional planet.

[@AzureWolf3]

@@NuisanceMan Well, kinda :D

[@oddballhippie7363]

Vulcan got imploded. The headline is in a way accurate. Peace and long life to all.

[@InsideOfMyOwnMind]

Re: Vulcan: It's dead Jim

[@beausweater]

15:14 I know no French at all but when I read "Merde" I laughed SO hard because that's basically the only word I know 😭

[@Austin_Playz27]

thats the only french word you know? well now i know it

[@aarnoman1088]

Stayed subscribed for nearly 4 years in the hopes of seeing another video, and you really delivered. Amazing and informative video, it was 40 minutes very well spent. I hope to see more in the future :)

[@connor4]

"If you ignore what might be inconvenient to calculate" Engineers: 🌝

[@zekedia2223]

@Trav that's a throwback and a fuckin half right there

[@Marinealver]

"A beam of negligible mass"

[@killianobrien2007]

e=3=pi=sqrt(10)

[@mj8323]

First of all the amount of editing detail is just insane. The story telling, the added tiny factoids and details, jokes. I was just hooked for 45 minutes, like a cat on the lasers dot.

[@reidysmeidy5772]

I lost track of time

[@WoodymC]

@@reidysmeidy5772 Same here. These 45 minutes felt like just five. Huzzah, relativity! :)

[@Sincro420]

yes, this is an amazing video, felt like 15 min

[@justaskin8523]

I too was stuck on it like flypaper. The only thing better than this presentation and its humor and details, is that I was eating some spaghetti and meatballs while I was watching it. That's probably what Einstein was eating when he thought up the Theory of Relativity.

[@bozomori2287]

You compared yourself to a sub-human animal? Yikes

[@vinr6074]

This video is very susprisingly well-made. I like the way you makes it not as boring as other vids are by putting interesting fonts and most importantly, the perfect visualisation, followed with your speaking tone haha. Yeah I watched it till' the very end and I totally think you deserve more subs, anyways, one from me!

[@user-yy3zi2ll3k]

Wow the video is so interesting and well made! I love how it doesn't have annoying sound effect or background music so I can focus on the context itself. Really enjoyed watching

[@Carlton-B]

This is actually what science is about - devising theories, making observations, drawing conclusions. Making new theories to account for previous observations, making more observations, making new conclusions. The whole thing is reviewed by a thousand observers, and the errors corrected. This should be a textbook example for the ages. Nothing discovered? Actually, the general theory of relativity was discovered to be true. Thanks for a great video.

[@urphakeandgey6308]

It wasn't "discovered to be true." It just supports the theory and gives it credence. People that say stuff like "this proves that" or "this proves this theory" are fatally misunderstanding the scientific process... Which is ironic, given the nature of your comment. Nothing is "proven," per se, merley "supported." That's why previously "true" theories and models are now abandoned. They're no longer *_"supported."_* Every false theory in the past was _"proven"_ to be true. It was only after so much conflicting evidence that it was _"proven"_ to be false.

[@Carlton-B]

@@urphakeandgey6308 I stand corrected. Not necessarily proven, but supports the current theory, and sends science in the right direction.

[@kelly4187]

That's a great way to put it. There's a tendency for some people to think that if science doesn't prove something true it has "failed" but this isn't the case. Science simply finds evidence towards a hypothesis, and if the evidence is strong enough it is "proven". Any "failure" to support the hypothesis is equally useful and valid in this framework. If only publications and journals would think this way we wouldn't have publication bias, only wanting to publish "positive" results.

[@WobblesandBean]

Yup. That's all the scientific method is, us trying to disprove our hypothesis over and over until there's no conceivable result left to consider other than said hypothesis. You find so many fascinating things, and often a failed experiment is way more enlightening than a successful one. God, I love being a scientist. 💜

[@v1e1r1g1e1]

Correct. And from this we may add: The Science is NEVER settled!

[@thepersonwhocomentz]

Honestly, every time I hear the procession of Mercury explained, I just giddily think that if you resurrected all these post-Newton-pre-Einstein astronomers from centuries past, put them in a room, and explicated to them the truth about relativity, you would probably not escape the room without hundreds of infuriated astronomers seeking to beat you to death. Imagine realizing that all your angry rivalries and fervent beliefs and heated debates were all based upon a fundamentally oversimplified understanding of the universe.

[@snardi]

But do you think they would be surprised? I think that those guys knew that they were just piecing together fragments, not explaining everything ever.

[@skeetsmcgrew3282]

**cough** dark matter **cough**

[@aaroncabatingan5238]

@@snardi You'll probably get beaten up first before they accept that theory. These people basically devoted their lives to this.

[@Chef_Alpo]

It would depend on the level of ego a person invested into their theories and beliefs. Those seeking truth are often open to correction while the ones trying to be right will sacrifice logic in the mental acrobatics it takes continue in delusions, which often results in aggression.

[@riccardocirielli]

Astronomers and physicists from the future will probably say the same about Einstein and all of us

[@thermitebanana]

I loved this one, thanks for picking up where you left off and delivering a massive work of such high quality

[@squ1dd13]

this is such a fantastic video. so well-made, so well-narrated. i was expecting to see >1m subscribers! truly great to see that your production quality is this good already. keep it up. ❤

[@siddycosmos607]

I didn’t expect the phrase "Le Yoink" in a serious science video and it made me laugh so hard

[@Nepherenthan]

yeh and a few minutes later it showed "Le Hmmm" XD

[@awesomeferret]

That's because this isn't a "serious science" video... 🤷‍♂️

[@pjbazzano2953]

There actually is something closer to the sun than mercury. It's an asteroid called PH27 although it's probably too small to be what people thought vulcan was.

[@damienasmodeus928]

could the amateur astronomers see that?

[@tamaskosa4456]

With a diameter of about 1km - impossible.

[@insane_troll]

It is only closer to the sun for part of its orbit.

[@elijah_9392]

@GRAPHENE IS IN THE MASKS, SWABS and PCR TESTS!!! I beg you to be a troll account.

[@babblefish5295]

@GRAPHENE IS IN THE MASKS, SWABS and PCR TESTS!!! You should try looking past your own nose pal

[@CARLOSHUAYTA]

Coming to watch this video one year later. Still one of my favorite videos on this platform. So informative and engaging. The tale of the planet that never existed is one of the most interesting science tales I've ever seen

[@Scope_DayZ]

Wish you would upload again man. Your videos were so good!

[@kierenmoore3236]

“Watch the Sun, very, very, closely …” ~ Le Verrier That’s some great advice … 👍🏼😎👍🏼

[@SumiEwiets-idgaf]

yeah.....not a great advice to give in 17th century 2 centuries before invention of sunglasses

[@TryniaMerin]

Make sure you have a very good solar filter and welder’s glasses.

[@sr71sr71]

*2 weeks later "I watched so close I cant see shit now!

[@DanksterPaws]

The fact that the timeline says it happened after the carrington event makes it even better

[@ffmfg]

"Way ahead of you." --Newton

[@polybius3609]

This is the best video essay I've ever seen. The amount of research you put into this, conveying really complicated information (literal astrophysics) in a simple & straightforward way, over a span of 45 minutes without it ever slowing down or getting tedious is amazing. The editing; the script; the factuality; everything about this video is perfect. Wow

[@loturzelrestaurant]

Hbomberguy, Wisecrack and Sci Man Dan have all covered flat earth

[@laurapaglia8229]

Best bit: "you can't make me" ^_^

[@Baboonmomma]

A few weeks ago, a teacher in my college said the reason why Pluto isnt a planet is because it's actually a super nova that orbits Neptune I couldn't be bothered to even think why they were wrong

[@brichan1851]

This was a college teacher?! Pluto is not a planet because it is not the dominant object in it’s orbital path. Because of Charon, Pluto is a binary planetoid system. While it is the largest object, Pluto and Charon seem to orbit one another. Also, there are moonlets that have been discovered as part of Pluto’s system. This is what disqualifies Pluto as a full on planet. It is certainly NOT a supernova in any sense of the word.

[@Nico_com_c]

I'm sorry, what?

[@starlite5154]

do they know what a supernova is

[@harrogeorge7878]

Isn’t a supernova a massive explosion caused by a massive Star dying? I feel like that professor was talking out his arse.

[@brichan1851]

@@harrogeorge7878 see? YOu get it! And a professor doesn’t?! Sad.

[@benansel8481]

Honestly, I found you by accident but wow! Amazing video, great production value, and easy to follow. If you do more, I'll definitely stick around 👍

[@spiralx6249]

Your account leaves Le Verrier looking like a decent scientist, which is nice to see. He seems to have genuinely followed an honest approach to his hypotheses. And then we still have the unexplained sightings, and another honest man, the doctor. An intriguing story, all round.

[@dandywaysofliving]

I'm putting this out there. UFOs are real. And worst case scenario. We have space travel and invisible technology as just humans. I doubt it was just human innovation but if it was. We can do it. . So take it how u want. . I saw a ufo. Was it government or aliens? v'-'v Idk but it was advanced and not an airplane. . Had a couple other experiences but none as clear as that one. . There's a strange light in the west or south west. It seems like a very bright star but not one I've ever seen. I've seen a planets shine and that object gives off planet vibes. . The ufo I saw dispeared in the direction that light has caught my notice. . Now the ufo sighting was like 3-5 years ago. This light is something I noticed this year So like salt take it lightly but if anyone knows more I'd happy to listen.

[@kingjad9416]

What if the spot doc man saw was just a fly or a smudge on his scope?

[@dandywaysofliving]

@@kingjad9416 the most epic troll and 10/10 something a fly would do to someone.

[@kingjad9416]

@@dandywaysofliving why are you talking?

[@dandywaysofliving]

@@kingjad9416 why does it matter, you're not in charge of me. 😏

[@azhardeen3562]

I was completely enthralled by the video up until "On a good day, you can see Uranus with the naked eye" at 20:45

[@jodiegarner791]

Fascinating stuff! Now I need to keep an eye out for all those other related topics you mentioned. The idea of an underground observatory is going to haunt my dreams.

[@poulineveber1382]

This is my favorite video. I love it so much. It soothes me, it sparks my interest, it’s humorous and educational and just perfect. Even though Vulcan doesn’t really exist it is alive in my mind. Can’t stop coming back to this video, thank you

[@KylleinMacKellerann]

"Vulcan" might have been a captured comet nucleus in a decaying orbit around the sun. It may have been several dying cometary bodies that were mistaken as a single planet.

[@hevendor958]

It is likely that they've spotted PH27 An Asteroid that orbits quite close to the Sun But has no effects to Mercury

[@annaclarafenyo8185]

I think it was all atmospheric, clouds, and so on. It was spotted as a dark disk transiting over minutes across the disk of the sun, by amateurs who didn't have training in atmospheric distractions.

[@nicevideomancanada]

Might have been an Alien Space Ship (from Vulcan lol)

[@piterpraker3399]

The broken, burning body of an aztec god, torn apart by archangels.

[@safespace4680]

@@hevendor958 PH27 is only a kilometer wide. Too small to be observed in any meaningful way other than maybe a small dot that zipped around the sun unusually fast.

[@Pumkincat]

I thought him making a video about a lighthouse and keeping my interested for 26 minutes was impressive...but here's a video where I learn about nothing and it keeps me entertained for 45...

[@attheratehandle]

How did this guy comment before the upload time?

[@LainUwU]

@@attheratehandle we got discord early access

[@attheratehandle]

@@LainUwU noiceee

[@black_horse_lover2655]

You learnt nothing?

[@Areszues42]

@@attheratehandle wait he’s right wtf

[@Adam_C52]

Ive watched/listened to this video many times. Not only is the subject matter so interesting, the delivery is authentic and relaxing. Ive watched all your content .. the eddystone lighthouse video is also a favourite .. thank you so much .. when the next Zepherus video drops will be a good day.

[@brandonhealy7158]

Omg that lighthouse is where I live!

[@battledroid6172]

This video is a magnificent piece of information and history. However, the only thing that I missed in those pauses was some kind of enigmatic background music that would make the video not only lively but also easier to understand, since the information is going to be accompanies with a fitting soundtrack for a better atmosphere. Thank you, keep being awesome!

[@panqueque445]

"On a good day you can see Uranus with the naked eye" A good day indeed

[@corgiw7281]

A good night, in fact... way off Hawaii on a trimaran. With no hurricanes.

[@mikeholland1031]

I can't bend that far

[@the.scarlet_witch.official]

No u can't no one has eyes like that

[@alexmaria9969]

@GRAPHENE IS IN THE MASKS, SWABS and PCR TESTS!!! This makes for great satire, not gonna lie :))

[@panqueque445]

"Why is Uranus acting differently?" Top 10 things you don't want to hear your doctor say

[@batatanna]

Mercury was misbehaving, like Uranus

[@matsuhikotakagawa8060]

@@batatanna OP said "doctors" not "astronomers" - they meant it in some "other" way 😏

[@siennahartle9069]

Top ten things you don’t want to hear Juno say also

[@Kangooroo08]

I was hoping for this kind of comment. :3

[@Dranok1]

And there I was glorying in the fact that he could use the traditional pronunciation of that planet with this audience and not raise an eyebrow... And yet this audience still manages to make a joke about it that is still intelligent and shows an appropriate level of education ;-)

[@Od_13]

I love this channel so much. I feel like zeph and I are kindred spirits. everything he posts is like right up my alley

[@literallyjudas2157]

God, remembered this fuckin banger. Hope you're still around.

[@fawziekefli2273]

8:03 "Why is Uranus acting differently?" **childish giggles**

[@xennaguy]

Oh shit

[@farpointgamingdirect]

Diet is everything...🤣🤣

[@libbydibbydoo]

Dear sir. I am a science and math idiot. I majored in English and went into law specifically to avoid having to take even one more math or science class after high school. This video appeared in my YT suggestion list because I have been binging Star Trek video essays for the last several weeks. The title intrigued me. So imagine my surprise (shock, really) to find myself literally sitting on the edge of my seat, leaning forward for 45 minutes as you explained the history of this “lost” planet. Even more shocking, I UNDERSTOOD IT. I freaking understood the concept of Newton’s gravitational law and Einstein’s theory. Couldn’t calculate it or even explain it to anyone else, but I followed your whole video. Your explanation, your delivery, and your illustrations are phenomenal. I’m 50+ years old and for the first time, I get it. I hardly ever write comments, but, here you are. Thank you for this. This video is a masterpiece.

[@iagrams9100]

I just found your channel and I love it! So of course I had to watch the rest of your episodes. Great sense of humor! Keep up the good work!😊

[@Warhammerdwarf34]

This was amazing. Learnt so much from this. Given me enthusiasm to watch more astronomy things. Thanks for the video!

[@twotothehalf3725]

"Bruh, is that a... oh. Holy shit, he's back! Is he? ...oh yeah, he's back. Oh my goodness." -- my actual reaction to seeing this video on my homepage. This is such a well-crafted video, especially for someone claiming to be "a little rusty". I am already partial towards space stuff and history, but your narration kept me hooked for the entire runtime -- and not to mention, the visuals. You very much have a talent for this, and I'm excited to see whatever else you make, whenever that may be.

[@rain_sq]

11:09 yooo a grey reference nicee

[@doom4232]

Love the background that appears in the Part/chapter names that gradually becomes an eclipse as you progress to the video until the climax showdown, and the extra ones like Part XI (Einstein)'s background being the Sun itself like he was the light that showed everything and finally brought it to an end, and the in Epilogue just looking away from it cause the video ended. Insane video, never thought I would see it through the end but it was just so intriguing that I couldn't stop watching, even had to go back a few seconds for multiple times in certain parts. It was fire (no pun intended)

[@justBeOrDontB7568]

Great video, the way you explained so much in such a way is so good! Keep up the work!

[@ConnieCrow]

as someone who has been an astronomy fan for all of her life, I love this video so much. you somehow managed to make me invested in a planet that I already know didn’t exist.

[@theangrygrunt1481]

nice pfp

[@ConnieCrow]

@@theangrygrunt1481 thank you so much, you have an amazing pfp as well.

[@mayonnaiseonahotdog7674]

How far do you squirt?

[@Mancer77]

@@ConnieCrow fellow nikos

[@Nico_com_c]

For me, anyone with a Niko pfp or any Oneshot pfp emanates Gigachad energy

[@abizarthahir3613]

Zep's subs: "The magic words boss" "we've been waiting 3 years to hear it" Zepherus: "Kept you waiting, huh?" WHOOOAAAHOOOWWW

[@vicsaucey]

Punished Zepherus

[@keithklassen5320]

You're pretty good.

[@averagekhfan3693]

Age hasn't slowed you down one bit.

[@cheshirewarcat5336]

I didn't think I had time for this but I ended up watching the whole thing. Thanks for putting this together very fascinating!

[@Charlie._.Niron22]

This maybe the most interesting youtube video I have ever seen! I can't wait for more stuff from you mate! Even if this becomes the last video you will ever post, I think you deserve a much needed break...

[@OoSweetyman]

I always check on your channel in hopes that you’ve uploaded again 😢. Miss you

[@c_jo]

"..beyond Uranus, and unnoticed by arse" 8:19 **giggle**giggle** I should probably grow up.

[@WackyAmoebatrons]

Sometimes I'm amazed what the algorithm comes up with to suggest to me. This was worth watching every second!

[@mfaizsyahmi]

Watched the previous videos of his a long long time ago, I'm surprised YT even remembered I did that after several years, and immediately recommending this one.

[@starcrafter13terran]

Honestly, I am not even sure how I got here...

[@PKNproductions]

I just wanna take a second to appreciate the effort that went into the self-referencing animation clips of the video like where the video shows THIS video, already uploaded on KZbin. Those little moments probably took a lot of effort, especially the commitment to some of the details that would easily change in the video production process like the total length of the video or the date it would be uploaded (and yeah, those things did change in the end, but not by enough to matter, lol)

[@cinnaminamoni]

I literally just discovered this now. I hope youre doing great man, this is amazing

[@allys537]

Me: "I'm not going to watch a 45 minute video on a planet that does not exist", 45 minutes later... also me: "wow that was really interesting".

[@cympimpin20]

"Venus is the mostest closest" I got that reference

[@medexamtoolsdotcom]

Except that would be Mercury. There was a whole video about that and they said Mercury is the mostest closest like a dozen times.

[@TabooGroundhog]

@@medexamtoolsdotcom Mostest closest relative to Mercury. To be fair, technically Mercury *is* the closest planet to itself.

[@carlosandleon]

what does it reference?

[@jamietaylor5570]

@@carlosandleon Sounds like CGP Grey. Or possibly Dr Seuss. Edit: There's a CGP Grey video still on screen at the time.

[@Marinealver]

Reminds me of a constellation map, seeing illustrations of Indus and Andromeda.

[@miloxil1350]

It is currently very late for me right now, having gone down the rabbit hole of auto playing videos. And might I say how I love the way you describe things. I could tell that you were very invested in this and enjoyed working on it(despite transcribing at 3 in the morning). The little written bit of "or they were looking at the wrong sun" sure made me smile. I really enjoyed this, and thought I'd just let you know. Keep doing what you love.

[@GDinferno]

This is the best KZbin video i have ever watched. The entire video was well researched and well made, and kept my attention the entire time, while talking about an interesting topic!

[@theBaron0530]

The same methodology underlies the "Nemesis" theory, that there is a large but as yet undiscovered object beyond the Oort Cloud, whose orbit occasionally pushes unusual numbers of ice chunks towards the inner Solar System, some of which eventually hit Earth and cause mass extinctions. I'm not advocating that theory, just mentioning that its basic argument is similar.

[@scottrogers1493]

Nemesis is intriguing. That a dwarf star exists as a binary to our sun. Most solar systems are binary so it would make some sense. Last I read, analyses make it doubtful. But there are some theories that it did once exist (maybe was stripped away by another passing solar system). Such an interesting idea

[@alaskanmooseman5975]

it's actually Cthulhu.

[@Tuberuser187]

@@alaskanmooseman5975 There is another theory that roughly every 50,000 to 75,000 another solar system gets close enough to kick things towards the inner solar system, based on some observations of single transit stellar objects and observations of Oumuamua and interstellar object candidates.

[@aarondavis8943]

@@Tuberuser187 And of course, Planet 9, which through orbital resonance, has shifted some very distant Keiper belt objects, including some dwarf planets, at a 90 degree angle to the solar plane. P9's orbit is meant to be about 95 astronomical units from the Sun at the closest point, and nearly 1000 at it's furthest, and takes about 20,000 years to orbit. It is theorized to be about 5-10 Earth masses; a small "ice giant" like it's sibling Neptune. The reasoning is quite solid and there hasn't been a convincing counter theory for those unusual Keiper belt object orbits. Bit off topic but I love the study of those extremely distant, tiny worlds, almost beyond our ability to find. Maybe James-Webb?

[@stefanimurray8543]

I think it’s a grapefruit sized black hole,if there is something out there.Makes sense why we wouldn’t be able to catch a view of it for hundreds of years.

[@NoriMori1992]

This is really interesting considering that later there would be a similar mania about a supposed "Planet X" that would explain Uranus's orbit; followed by an assumption that the newly discovered Pluto was that Planet X; followed by increasing evidence that Pluto couldn't possibly be Planet X, thus leaving the mystery open again; followed by discoveries that resolved the mystery without any need for a Planet X. Think you'll ever do a video on that?

[@femkevankeulen853]

Not sure if you've seen that video as well, but a channel called geographic actually did a pretty interesting video on "planet X". If you haven't seen it, I definitely recommend it.

[@kaylaherrera4544]

@@femkevankeulen853 thanks for the recommendation! I didn't know that he did one on planet x.

[@thetruesmit]

Thank you for uploading this video, you have done an excellent job explaining the history of the theories of the planet Vulcan. Very well layed out. So 👍 to you sir 🙂

[@chancecomic1595]

YES, I FOUND THIS VIDEO AGAIN! Been looking for this on and off for months, only vaguely remembering it had to do with Le Verrier. Very excited to watch it again