Fifth planet (hypothetical) Fifth planet (hypothetical) In the history of astronomy, a handful of Solar System bodies have been counted as the fifth planet from the Sun. Under the present definition of a planet, Jupiter is counted as the fifth. There are three main ideas regarding hypothetical planets between Mars and Jupiter. During the early 19th century, as asteroids were discovered, they were considered planets. Jupiter became the sixth planet with the discovery of Ceres in 1801. Soon, three more asteroids, Pallas (1802), Juno (1804), and Vesta (1807) were discovered. They were counted as separate planets, despite the fact that they shared an
Our Plundered Planet Our Plundered Planet Our Plundered Planet is a book published in 1948 that was written by Fairfield Osborn about environmental destruction by humankind. With a focus on soil, the book is a critique of humankind's poor stewardship of Earth. It typifies the earliest apocalyptic environmental literature, in which human beings are seen as destroyers of the natural world. "Our Plundered Planet", along with William Vogt’s "Road to Survival", also published in 1948, launched a Malthusian revival in the post War era, and would inspire Paul R. Ehrlich, author of "The Population Bomb" among many others. In writing this book, Osborn