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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
I'm afraid I didn't read all of the article but can they really withdraw Pluto's status as a planet?
Sure, if they discover its not a planet after all.
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.
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.
Yes, quite a few scientists think it`s not a planet and want to reduce the number of planets to 8.Quote:
Originally Posted by Vip3r
Really?Quote:
Originally Posted by ShadesPanther
I`m not quite sure I understand what you`re trying to say here.Quote:
Originally Posted by swirly_the_toilet_fish
~:cool:Quote:
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.
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).
Nice to know, thanks! ~:cheers:
Hehe, you kids... ~DQuote:
Originally Posted by Papewaio
I had to reply based on the target audience... Teh Backroom ~;)
A new planet = more oil! Sanctions!
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.
[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]
[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]Quote:
Originally Posted by Alexander the Pretty Good
I bet you they have WMD's as well. We should nuke that damn planet to bits!!! :charge:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Viking
you know what that means???
i was RIGHT that time in the 8th grade!!!! ~D
*runs to phone his 8th grade teacher and shove her nose in it* :charge:
We should build a Deathstar... I don't like Jupiter blocking my view when I look at the stars.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Meneldil
Not in a million years. When Pluto is closest to another planet it is still a billion miles away.
@ mikus caesar
Well I guess the earth also has a dorky eclipseQuote:
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.
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).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wiki
Cheers for that ~:cheers: According to that theory there is 13 planets in our Solar System and not 9(10??).Quote:
Originally Posted by Papewaio
-Edit: Possible 100 ~:cool:
Even worse.... did you know that Earth has 2 moons?
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.
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...Quote:
Originally Posted by Al Khalifah
Cruithne
Affectionately Earth's second moon, but you're quite right, it's not actually a moon.
Pluto is just going to crash into Mars, just to delay a manned mission to another planet.
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
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. ~DQuote:
Originally Posted by Oaty
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by Al Khalifah