Off Topic: The lost worlds of our solar system Eurogamer.net If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. Off Topic: The lost worlds of our solar system Round and round. Feature by Christian Donlan Features Editor Published on 12 Jul 2022 If you left Earth in a rocket ship in the 1820s, headed for Jupiter, I guess that would be pretty incredible by itself. What I want to talk about today, though, is something I continue to find mind-bending. On your journey, as you moved between Mars and Jupiter, you would pass four other planets: Vesta, Juno, Ceres and Pallas. It's likely that you know all this stuff already, so apologies for going over it again. These four planets were discovered between 1801 and 1807, lying in what we now consider to be the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. They hung around in text books and the popular imagination as planets until, I gather, the 1850s, when they were demoted. I was thinking of this again this week because of the James Webb Telescope, which should hopefully be giving us its first pictures by the time you read this. This telescope will peer deeper into our universe than we've ever been able to look before. And along the way it will probably not just discover new stuff, but change the way we think about old stuff. Subscribe to Eurogamer to read this article Get your first month for £1 (normally £3.99) when you buy a Standard Eurogamer subscription. Enjoy ad-free browsing, merch discounts, our monthly letter from the editor, and show your support with a supporter-exclusive comment flair! Support us View supporter archive More Features Feature What games get wrong about horses And what they could do about it. 27 Feature Shout out to all the Overwatch supports - where would we be without you? Merci. 55 Feature From abandoned board game to birthing a genre: Football Manager at 40 Kick off. 21 Feature How I became an Elden Ring detective It started with a save game... 26 Latest Articles Genshin Impact Path of Gleaming Jade dates, login event rewards Including other anniversary rewards and how to claim them. Atari will hold RollerCoaster Tycoon rights for another decade Ups and downs. 7 Jelly Deals Logitech's G Pro X gaming headset is its lowest-ever price during Amazon's Early Access sale Prime Members can get it for just £52. Jelly Deals Save over £500 off the retail price on this beefy ASUS TUF Dash gaming laptop from Amazon Under £1080 for an RTX 3070 laptop. Supporters Only Premium only Off Topic: Take a minute to appreciate Cookin' with Coolio's incredible scallops recipe. What a great book. Premium only Off Topic: Reading City of Glass in comic form "Where exactly am I going?" Premium only Off Topic: Il Buco is a transporting film about a really big hole Underlands. Off-Topic Netflix handled Sandman brilliantly It was Dreamy. 9 Buy things with globes on them And other lovely Eurogamer merch in our official store! Explore our store