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In Roman mythology Vulcan is the son of Jupiter and the husband of Venus. He was god of fire and volcanoes, and the manufacturer of art, arms, iron, and armour for gods and heroes. We also know that Mr Spock came from the planet named Vulcan. But before Mr Spock told us where Vulcan was, there was a lot of controversy over a possible intra-Mercurial planet named Vulcan.
The French mathematician and orbital specialist Urbain Le Verrier, who predicted the position of Neptune before it was ever seen, also hypothesised that a planet must exist between the Sun and Mercury. This hypothetical planet was tentatively named Vulcan and could explain Mercury's irregular motion, especially its anomalous perihelion shift.
Later, Einstein's general theory of relativity proposed an explanation that did not need Vulcan. However, until the early 1970s amateur astronomers still reported Vulcan-like objects, which turned out to be small comets and/or asteroids. As well said by www.theage.com.au: "Astrologists believe in Vulcan, but astronomers don't believe in astrologists".
You will find lots more information on Le Verrier and the search for Vulcan in this Wikipedia link. If you want to know what the 'anomalous perihelion shift' is all about, read the short PDF available from this web page: Tests of Relativity.
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