10th Planet discovered

[Viking]

Read the article from Space.com, or NASA press release

It`s not the first time news-media has brought this issue up, but this time it`s special: the new-found object is bigger than Pluto.

If this object don`t earn planet status then Pluto might loose it`s definition as planet.

And just before this announcement, another Pluto-sized object was said to be found:Large New World Discovered Beyond Neptune

[Taurus]

I'm afraid I didn't read all of the article but can they really withdraw Pluto's status as a planet?

[derF]

Sure, if they discover its not a planet after all.

[ShadesPanther]

I heard about that a few months ago. Of course it was speculation then because of the way gravity acts on the other two planets but now it is confirmed.

[swirly_the_toilet_fish]

Could just be a wide-orbiting satellite. It is of course not much (if not) larger than our very own moon, luna, (whatever you prefer). That, and pluto does overlap orbits with Neptune, meaning it could have been drawn out of orbit of the tenth body at some point.

[Viking]

I'm afraid I didn't read all of the article but can they really withdraw Pluto's status as a planet?

Yes, quite a few scientists think it`s not a planet and want to reduce the number of planets to 8.

I heard about that a few months ago. Of course it was speculation then because of the way gravity acts on the other two planets but now it is confirmed.

Really?

Could just be a wide-orbiting satellite. It is of course not much (if not) larger than our very own moon, luna, (whatever you prefer). That, and pluto does overlap orbits with Neptune, meaning it could have been drawn out of orbit of the tenth body at some point.

I`m not quite sure I understand what you`re trying to say here.

He has also contended, based on computer modeling, that there should be Mars-sized worlds hidden in the far corners of our solar system and even possibly other worlds as large as Earth.

[Papewaio]

Pluto sometimes is closer to the Sun then Neptune is because Pluto has a high eccentricty orbit... in English... Neptune orbits in a circle, Pluto in an ellipse (ellipse is to egg what circle is to a tenis ball).

[Taurus]

Nice to know, thanks!

[Byzantine Prince]

Pluto sometimes is closer to the Sun then Neptune is because Pluto has a high eccentricty orbit... in English... Neptune orbits in a circle, Pluto in an ellipse (ellipse is to egg what circle is to a tenis ball).

Hehe, you kids...

[Papewaio]

I had to reply based on the target audience... Teh Backroom

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

A new planet = more oil! Sanctions!

[Meneldil]

Errr, how could they say that Pluto isn't a planet now ? We've been told that for years...

And for those who care, I read yesterday that Pluto might possibly crash on another planet, because of it's elliptic (is that a word ?) orbit.

[Mikeus Caesar]

[geek mode]

It's quite obvious Pluto isn't a planet, but a piece of rock that was left over from the creation of our solar system, and anyway, a real planet orbits the sun in a manly circle, not in a dorky eclipse, haha*snort*haha.

[/geek mode]

[Byzantine Prince]

A new planet = more oil! Sanctions!

[sarcasm]Yes all that oil that has been accumulating over the years of heavy build-up of tropical plants is sure to give all the energy we'll ever need.[/sarcasm]

I bet you they have WMD's as well. We should nuke that damn planet to bits!!!

[Ronin]

Yes, quite a few scientists think it`s not a planet and want to reduce the number of planets to 8.

you know what that means???



i was RIGHT that time in the 8th grade!!!!

*runs to phone his 8th grade teacher and shove her nose in it*

[Samurai Waki]

We should build a Deathstar... I don't like Jupiter blocking my view when I look at the stars.

[Oaty]

Errr, how could they say that Pluto isn't a planet now ? We've been told that for years...

And for those who care, I read yesterday that Pluto might possibly crash on another planet, because of it's elliptic (is that a word ?) orbit.

Not in a million years. When Pluto is closest to another planet it is still a billion miles away.


@ mikus caesar

It's quite obvious Pluto isn't a planet, but a piece of rock that was left over from the creation of our solar system, and anyway, a real planet orbits the sun in a manly circle, not in a dorky eclipse, haha*snort*haha.

Well I guess the earth also has a dorky eclipse

[Papewaio]

The debate has been going on for years that Pluto is either a very small planet or a very large comet... I guess until they find a few more comets its size it may remain classified as a planet.

The easiest way to define a planet would be a spherical object formed under its own gravity that does not generate light (if it generated light it would be a star).

Pluto's highly eccentric orbit makes it the eighth-most distant planet from the Sun for part of each orbit; this most recently occurred from February 7, 1979 through February 11, 1999. Pluto orbits in a 3:2 orbital resonance with Neptune. When Neptune approaches Pluto from behind their gravity start to pull on each other slightly, resulting in an interaction between their positions in orbit of the same sort that produces Trojan points. Since the orbits are eccentric, the 3:2 periodic ratio is favoured because this means Neptune always passes Pluto when they're almost farthest apart. Half a Pluto orbit later, when Pluto is nearing its closest approach, it initially seems as if Neptune is about to catch up to Pluto. But Pluto speeds up due to the gravitational acceleration from the Sun, stays ahead of Neptune, and pulls ahead until they meet again on the other side of Pluto's orbit

[Viking]

The easiest way to define a planet would be a spherical object formed under its own gravity that does not generate light (if it generated light it would be a star).

Cheers for that According to that theory there is 13 planets in our Solar System and not 9(10??).

-Edit: Possible 100

[Al Khalifah]

Even worse.... did you know that Earth has 2 moons?

[Papewaio]

I should add a part to that... they then have to be in orbit of a star to be a planet, while if they orbit another larger planet they are a moon.

It is arbitrary, but I don't know of any really good definitions that all astronomers agree on... agreement would be boring anyway.

[discovery1]

Even worse.... did you know that Earth has 2 moons?

I thought that other moon was the upper stage of a Saturn V? I remember reading that spectroscops indicated that it was covered in titanium oxide, which is what was used to paint the Saturns...

[Al Khalifah]

Cruithne
Affectionately Earth's second moon, but you're quite right, it's not actually a moon.

[swirly_the_toilet_fish]

Pluto is just going to crash into Mars, just to delay a manned mission to another planet.

[Marcellus]

Does anyone know what happened to Sedna, the 'tenth planet' that was dsicovered a while ago?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3511678.stm

Not in a million years.

I am assuming that you mean this figuratively, and that you are not saying that Pluto is going to crash in a million years' time.

Even worse.... did you know that Earth has 2 moons?

According to QI (Quite Interesting, BBC TV programme), the Earth now has five moons - three more than the programme said the Earth had a year before (three more moons had been discovered between series 1 and 2). However they did say that one could argue that the Earth only has one moon, since the others are too small to be considered moons.