Pluto demoted

[Brian Ellis]

Astronomers have gone Goofy with their Mickey Mouse decision to demote Pluto!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5282440.stm

[Dr Mordrid]

I've long thought there must be a crack pipe concession at the IAU....this just proves it

[Jessterw]

On one hand there is the notion that we shouldn't cling to imprecise definitions just because they're what we know.

On the other, I want some of whatever they were smoking

[Gurm]

This is the same group that recently voted to declare all "round thingies" to be planets, isn't it?

[Dr Mordrid]

Yes. You might say they're a bit 'conflicted'. It seems that at every conference they feel the need to come up with at least one head-scratcher.

[cjolley]

Geez guys. Get over it.
Pluto wasn't even discovered until 1930.
It is not one of the traditional planets.

[Jon P. Inghram]

I don't see the problem either: the term dwarf planet seems perfectly appropriate, and also "upgrades" Ceres (which was close to being considered a planet when it was first found anyway.)

[KRSESQ]

If we're going to redefine the solar system then we should consider dividing the planets into different classes. Major planets would be gas giants approximately Neptune sized and up. Minor planets would be rocky orbs Mercury sized to Neptune sized. Planetoids would be anything Moon-sized and down. Then the rocky planetesimals that comprise the asteroid belt.

Interesting thought: what would life look like on a terrestrial planet the size of Jupiter? Just because it has a crushing gravity doesn't necessarily mean it will have a crushing atmosphere.

Kevin

[Gurm]

If we're going to redefine the solar system then we should consider dividing the planets into different classes. Major planets would be gas giants approximately Neptune sized and up. Minor planets would be rocky orbs Mercury sized to Neptune sized. Planetoids would be anything Moon-sized and down. Then the rocky planetesimals that comprise the asteroid belt.

Yeah! And planets that are actually giant robots should be called cybertronesimals!

Interesting thought: what would life look like on a terrestrial planet the size of Jupiter? Just because it has a crushing gravity doesn't necessarily mean it will have a crushing atmosphere.

Aren't there rules about how big a planet can be before it can't be terrestrial any more? I tend to think that if anything the size of Jupiter were made out of any heavier elements, it'd become too massive...

[Brian Ellis]

I laughed when I read the following comments from a Canadian on another forum:

Some observations:
1. An American discovered Pluto. This proves most of the world is anti-American.
2. Dwarf is insensitive. We must refer to Pluto as Planetoidally Challenged.
3. Could this mean Mickey Mouse's dog is really a chihuahua?
4. What if folks on Jupiter do not regard Earth as a planet?
5. Do astrologers have to erase the parts that refer to Pluto's influence on our behaviour?
6. Pluto is the Roman god of the underworld amd judge of the dead. It's not a good idea to annoy him.

Hank, Toronto

[cjolley]

...
5. Do astrologers have to erase the parts that refer to Pluto's influence on our behaviour?
...

God I hope so.
Maybe they could demote the rest of them...

[Nowhere]

Nah, they'll take into account all Pluto-like bodies from this point, and also planets in other systems

[cjolley]

Colbert teaches the planets

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IabyeFh2lVE

[High_Jumbllama]

Be careful of those Astrologers. They might sue.
Yahoo link no longer works.