Well folks... some of you might have already heard... But, in case you haven't heard here's some devastating (depending on your perspective) news:
PLUTO IS DEAD!
No. Not the Disney character. But, Pluto the Planet. It seems that there are only 8 planets now. What you have learned in school is wrong. Please revise your minds to accept that the Solar system has 8 planets and 3 "dwarf planets"
How did this happen? Who killed Pluto? The answer: "The International Astronomical Union"
They have literally killed Pluto with words. They have simply defined it out of existence.
Okay... I know this is hyperbole.. Pluto is still alive. It has merely ceased to exists as a planet. I guess its a kind of a demotion.
What is the new definition of a planet?
a) It orbits the sun.
b) "It has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape."... I guess I can interpret that to mean... It must be round.
c) It "has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit." i.e. it doesn't cross another planet's path. Looks like Pluto has been a bad boy and has been crossing Neptune's path. (Hey. Hang on... From Neptune's perspective, Pluto may be crossing its path. But, think about it from the perspective of the small guy... Neptune could actually be crossing Pluto's path. This is outrageous! Its a case of the strong bullying the weak.)
Anyway, the short of the long story is that Pluto is now a "dwarf planet". The other two officially recognised dwarf planets are Ceres and 2003UB313.
dreamtime posted on Aug 28, 2006
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Comments
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ohtidak said on Aug 28, 2006....
well, sad to say that we actualy have to ignore one of our family
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dreamtime said on Aug 29, 2006....
well... I guess Pluto is still part of the family... kind of like a poor cousin...
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hotaka said on Aug 29, 2006....
Can anything good come out of this? I almost can't finish eating dinner now. Pluto, our dear friend, first discovered in... was in 1929 or sometime around then? Pluto, welcomed into the family only to be tossed out on the doorstep like the dog that's not welcome in the house. So what about... what's its name... Sedna? Is that also a dwarf planet. Heck, if dwarf planets are going to count for something then they should at least give 2003UB313 a name. Having just a number makes it sound like Pluto has been demoted to a category that includes a prisoner.
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dreamtime said on Aug 30, 2006....
I agree... just imagine that poor little chap who has to go by the number 2003UB313. How very unkind of the 'namers' .
Incidentally, UB reminds me of UB40 (of red red wine fame)...
It seems the band decided upon that name because they were all unemployed at the time that they started jamming together and they were living on unemployment benefits...
UB40 was the document control number of the Unemployment Benefit Form that they had to submit.
I wonder if that little planet at the edge of our solar system is on the dole.
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hotaka said on Sep 03, 2006....
Well, since he can't work as a real planet I am sure he must be looking for additional welfare programs to help out.