new planets?

[Sheridan]

I have been following news of IAU re-defining what makes a planet.
pretty exciting as we will probably have a few more planets in out solar system.
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=scienceN ews&storyID=2006-08-22T143705Z_01_L2296754_RTRUKOC _0_US-SCIENCE-PLANETS.xml&WTmodLoc=Home-C5-scienceNews-2

[grobelaar]

Seems to me like that if the scientists were really truthful we'd have one less planet in the solar system. I get the feeling that if they want these new definitions then they should stick to their guns and strike Pluto off the list - but it seems like they're structuring their definitions such that Pluto gets to remain a planet purely for nostalgia purposes...

[joe pinapples]

yeh isnt pluto gas sometimes solid the rest? not a planet in MY book either

*tuts loudly*

[spoon]

"that's no pluton...."

http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/d/d0/Death_Star.jpg

[soulcheck]

yeh isnt pluto gas sometimes solid the rest? not a planet in MY book either

*tuts loudly*

I think it's more about the Plutos mass. It has also a very thin atmosphere. More like a planetoid (or rather twin planetoids).

[Sheridan]

pluto is an ice cube, saturn is gas.

[soulcheck]

Yeah, in 44K most things are ice.

Better ice cube than vanilla ice :)

[Sheridan]

pluto just got demoted.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/space/08/24/pluto.ap/index.html

[emef]

just saw it on the news, it feels like when ginger left the spice girls *boohoo*

[Patrick]

"It could be argued that we are creating an umbrella called 'planet' under which the dwarf planets exist," she said, drawing laughter by waving a stuffed Pluto of Walt Disney fame beneath a real umbrella.

The hours must fly by.

[grobelaar]

Pluto is automatically disqualified because its oblong orbit overlaps with Neptune's.

What bollocks - by their own definition that disqualifies Neptune too. Perhaps if the two met - it would be solved - probably with a mighty collision...

But under their rules - Neptune hasn't cleared it's orbit either so should be disqualified - perhaps some of them can get their slide rules out and calculate when the two will collide...

[Sheridan]

What bollocks - by their own definition that disqualifies Neptune too. Perhaps if the two met - it would be solved - probably with a mighty collision...

But under their rules - Neptune hasn't cleared it's orbit either so should be disqualified - perhaps some of them can get their slide rules out and calculate when the two will collide...

I had read in the paper yesterday that they were going to disqualify pluto since its orbit dips too high and too low in comparison to the sun. so I guess it takes it out of the solar 'neighborhood'.

[big raff]

i'm sure pluto couldn't care less what little carbon units on the 3rd planet wish to pigeon-hole it as....

[joe pinapples]

http://boingboing.net/images/71612518v4_240x240_F.jpg

http://boingboing.net/images/pluto-astroid.thumbnail.jpg