[Tron]

Hello Guys,

I have an exciting new theory to present you all.  I've been pondering the image of the Night Sky above us and have been trying to Map out what the stars, planets, and even Galaxies look like above us.  So far, my best guess is that the sky is a representation of the traditional solar system as seen above us, but much smaller in scale.  Attached is a preliminary picture:

                     

Source:  https://space-facts.com/asteroid-belt/

The stars and constellations are actually members of the Asteroid belt!

In order to make this work a few things need to happen:   
1)  The earth needs to spin once every 24 hours in order to get a full view of all the constellations during the day and night. 
2)  The earth needs to wobble once a year in order to account for a Second circular motion all the constellations make once a year.  Thats why you see some constellations in winter and others in summer.

Lastly, I've looked into what the Dome might be made of and came across this interesting article...http://www.utahpeoplespost.com/2016/01/physicists-solid-metallic-hydrogen/

"Theorists have long predicted that extreme pressures combined with mild temperatures should cause hydrogen to turn the normally clear gas into a glossy, grayish, metallic solid."

This is the kind of material that would allow light to reflect around the atmosphere.  Hydrogen is abundant in space and I assume once it hits the earths atmosphere the necessary pressure is produced.

[Trillion]

I love your imagination I really do.  Just a couple of questions to ask...

1. If the stars are part of the asteroid belt then why do I observe the asteroids moving between the stars while the stars always remain fixed w.r.t each other.  That implies the asteroids are much nearer than the stars.

2. What is wrong with the conventional explanation for why we see different constellations throughout the year? i.e. the Earth orbits the Sun (evidence - aberration of starlight) once a year so we are always looking out into space in a different direction.  Doesn't that produce the same effect?

[Tron]

Based on your observations I'd say some Asteroids are lower in altitude then others.

And the Round Earth explanation for seasonal changes is a good one and that's all I can say.

[Trillion]

Based on your observations I'd say some Asteroids are lower in altitude then others.

No what I mean is you can see asteroids moving relative the surrounding stars.  For example see these two images of Ceres.

https://www.skymania.com/wp/find-dwarf-planet-ceres-easily-with-binoculars/

Can you see the position of Ceres change over just 5 days, relative to the bright red star Aldebaran between the two photos.  Ceres of course is now reclassified by the IAU as a dwarf planet but its orbital path lies within the main asteroid belt.

[Tron]

Right, you raise a good point...  I guess what I'm suggesting is that the "main asteroid belt" has asteroids higher in the sky and are the 'stars' which you are referring to.

[Trillion]

Visually asteroids look identical to stars but that's where the similarity ends. The asteroids are simply the remnants of a planet which got pulled apart by tidal forces during the formation of the solar system. The 'belt' formed from the opposing forces of gravity between the Sun and Jupiter and then put them just outside the orbit of Mars.

The asteroids differ from the planets in being smaller obviously, non-spherical below a certain threshold mass and not necessarily in the same orbital plane as the major planets.

That of course is the astronomical explanation. FEers will I'm sure have their own, completely different version!

[Tron]

Trillion I need to continue this conversation later when I research more into this idea.  Thanks for your input, hope to speak with you soon.

[Trillion]

Fair enough. I will be most interested to discover what your research reveals.

[Tron]

I'm using Stellarium.com to try and understand the movements and relative movements of of Steller objects.  It's a bit tedious but if I find something compelling I'll let you know!

[Trillion]

That's fine, Stellarium is a good program. Bear in mind that the closer something is to Earth the more rapidly it seems to move relative to the stars. For example the Moon completes one circuit of the ecliptic every month while the the Sun completes one circuit each year. So what does that tell you about the respective distances of the Sun and Moon?

An asteroid moves against the background stars visibly over a few nights while the stars will always remain fixed relative to one another over a human lifetime.  So what does that tell you about the relative distances of the asteroids and stars?

If you check the gaps between the opposition dates for Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune you will see that it increases with increasing distance from the Sun. That's how you can verify for yourself the order of the planets from the Sun.

All very simple really!

[Tron]

Thanks Trillion.  I'm on it.