New Planet Discovered (again)

[VT]

They should've made Voyager look like a fondue fork, damn it.

Either that or a tortilla chip.

 

[a6m5]

You guys are making me hungry.......

 

[Omnis]

they need to name the next one Cracker 1.

The Nacho Probe.

 

[FoolKiller]

Here is a quote on the Pluto planet debate taken from the CNN story.

However, a number of astronomers dispute whether Pluto, discovered in 1930, should really be classified as a planet, because it is so dissimilar from the other eight. Instead, they believe it should be classified only as a Kuiper Belt object, part of an array of icy debris in the outer reaches of the solar system.

Thousands of Kuiper objects have been discovered, and more are being found all the time.

Brown concedes that both Pluto and his new planet are Kuiper objects -- but he argues they are also both big enough to be classified as planets.

The International Astronomical Union, the official arbiter of such disputes, has classified Pluto as a planet and recently declined to demote it. Brown said resolving the argument over whether the object his team found is a planet will take years.

Not trying to argue with anyone, but I feel it explains why Pluto is still considered a planet even though many argue that it isn't. Apparently the International Astronomical Union fears change. Someone may decide to force an official definition of a planetary satellite and a non-planetary satellite down the road and it will help put an end to all of this "we found the 10th planet" stuff. I feel like people find a large rock and just begin to claim planet for the press and future research grants. The IAU needs to define planet once and for all.

 

[skicrush]

Man, I'd really be bugged if they changed Pluto's classification at this point, even if just for tradition's sake. And given the controversy over whether it should realyl be classified as a planet, I'd think long and hard before adding any more to the list. I'd lean towards Danoff's position, but several of Jupiter's and Saturn's moons have atmospheres, if I'm not mistaken, and are much closer to being habitable than the planets they orbit. But aside from being a certain size, I think one of the base definitions of a planet is that it orbits the (a) sun.