Fictional planets of the Solar System 40 Eridani A. Counter-Earth was a hypothetical planet sharing an orbit with Earth, but on the opposite side of the Sun (hence Earth and Counter-Earth would always be invisible to each other). The idea of a counter-Earth has never been a serious scientific hypothesis in modern times. Phaëton is a name given to a supposed planet existing in the past between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, which no longer exists, having become the Solar System's asteroid belt. Proposed not long after the discovery of multiple asteroids at the beginning of the 19th century, the idea that the asteroids were
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