Our Solar System drops to 8 planets

Blackmage · Posted: Fri Aug 25, 2006 11:19 pm Post subject:

Ceres... wasn't that the space station in the asteroid belt in Metroid III?

Buda · Maille smith extrodanair Gender: Joined: 30 Sep 2004

meh, just a joke. i think pluto is a planet, its bigger than most bodies in an asteroid belt yes? and it maintains an orbit that doesnt change as much as that of a comet. i think this is just someone trying to get their name famous by coming up with, <insert the guys name here>'s rule.

Shino · Posted: Fri Aug 25, 2006 11:43 pm Post subject:

Well honestly, with the recent discovery of the Kuiper belt, if we keep Pluto at planetary status, we need to also make Ceres a planet as well... and Xena for that matter.

It is going to take some getting used to, but overall, it may have been the right decision.

RivaOni · Full English! Age: 41 Gender: Joined: 24 Sep 2002

isn't it something like 60 odd years of text books have to be completely altered now?

Besides, my old science teachers going to have a breakdown, he cant use
"My very easy method, speeds up naming planets" anymore. or whatever it was, I know jupiters missing there!

Nogrick · Everybody DANCE! Gender: Joined: 30 Sep 2002

Pluto's orbit is also kinda chaotic. It's off centered from the rest of the planets, and I believe sometimes it comes dangerously close to Neptune. I'm not surprised they reclassified it. Some of my recent science teachers have even said it should be a planet.

Oh well, not like I have to know it for a test or anything anymore. Wink

Silver Adept · Otaku Lord Age: 42 Gender: Joined: 20 May 2003

Pluto's reclassification is likely trying to keep things simple by relegation rather than complex by addition. Keeping Pluto was likely to mean that 2003UB313 ("Xena") would become a tenth planet. The further out we explore, though, the more likely it is that the definition of a planet will be a generic sort of term for a body orbiting a star in a regular sort of way.

As for Pluto, it really is eccentric - the orbit is very far off the ecliptic, and there are points where it is closer to Sol than Neptune is. It didn't and doesn't really match with the other classical planets.

What I've really wondered about though, is now that it isn't a planet, are the astrologers going to have to do some recalculation?

Blackmage · Posted: Sat Aug 26, 2006 4:51 pm Post subject:

Pluto always seem kinda odd that it was considered a planet, mostly becuase jupiter and Saturn have moons larger than it.

Kudasai Hiroki · Posted: Sat Aug 26, 2006 5:13 pm Post subject:

My son has a poster in his room of all 9 of the planets. Man, he's going to be confused in school. Can you imagine the confusion of all the kids in grade school that just learned that there were nine planets and now they have to re-learn 8 planets and countless "dwarf" planets? I don't get it. Supposedly Xena is bigger than Pluto and Pluto was a planet. And how come Mercury still get's to be a planet?

Pluto, you'll always be a planet to me!

Blackmage · Posted: Sat Aug 26, 2006 6:20 pm Post subject:

we could always blow up venus and make a 2nd asteroid belt...

Daijaga · Chosen of Luck Gender: Joined: 17 Dec 2003

Comon guys, who cares about Ceres or the Kuniper Belt? I think were all piddling around about the small things and missing the very real, very pertinent issue here.

Fired? Kicked out? MIA? POW? Whats the status of Sailor Pluto? has she been downgraded from a Senshi? Is she a starlight now? Explain this, science!