Pluto is no longer a planet

[LordAoushi]

Pluto is declared no longer a planet.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20060824/ ... geraplanet

"Pluto is a dwarf planet by the ... definition and is recognized as the prototype of a new category of trans-Neptunian objects," states the approved resolution.


Dwarf planets are not planets under the definition, however.


"There will be hundreds of dwarf planets," Brown predicted. He has already found dozens that fit the category.

[Not Kuno]

Oh snap.

[Fayth-]

I read this on bbc and was saddened

[Eaglestrike]

Can't wait to have kids...

Why back in my day sonny, we had 9 planets in the solar system!

[SephYuyX]

http://www.freemars.org/jeff/planets/planets5.htm

Mercury is almost as small as Pluto, when will it feel those scientists evil grip.

[Fayth-]

Not just size that led to the decision though...I think our Mercury is safe 8)

[Kross]

http://www.freemars.org/jeff/planets/planets5.htm

Mercury is almost as small as Pluto, when will it feel those scientists evil grip.

mercury is still a planet cuz it revolves solely around the sun. Pluto is not a planet because it is pulled by Neptune's Gravity pull.

Aren't we supposed to add 3 more? Ceres, Xena and... i forget the 3rd one

[neighbortaru]

http://www.freemars.org/jeff/planets/planets5.htm

Mercury is almost as small as Pluto, when will it feel those scientists evil grip.

mercury is still a planet cuz it revolves solely around the sun. Pluto is not a planet because it is pulled by Neptune's Gravity pull.

Aren't we supposed to add 3 more? Ceres, Xena and... i forget the 3rd one

gabriel... no, seriously.
thank god those are just code-names.

[Norelco]

Why are people getting sad about this? Soledad O'Brien on CNN was getting teary eyed...that stupid whore.

[Krandor]

Wondered when this would actually become official.

[Shaede]

Man has this debate been going on forever. And guess what?

Stern, in charge of the robotic probe on its way to Pluto, said the language of the resolution is flawed. It requires that a planet "has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit." But Earth, Mars, Jupiter and Neptune all have asteroids as neighbors.

"It's patently clear that Earth's zone is not cleared," Stern told SPACE.com. "Jupiter has 50,000 trojan asteroids," which orbit in lockstep with the planet.

Stern called it "absurd" that only 424 astronomers were allowed to vote, out of some 10,000 professional astronomers around the globe.

"It won't stand," he said. "It's a farce."

Stern said astronomers are already circulating a petition that would try to overturn the IAU decision.

Owen Gingerich, historian and astronomer emeritus at Harvard who led the committee that proposed the initial definition, called the new definition "confusing and unfortunate" and said he was "not at all pleased" with the language about clearing the neighborhood.

Gingerich also did not like the term "dwarf" planet.

"I thought that it made a curious linguistic contradiction," Gingerich said in a telephone interview from Boston (where he could not vote). "A dwarf planet is not a planet. I thought that was very awkward."

Gingerich added: "In the future one would hope the IAU could do electronic balloting."

It's not over yet.

[Unklemonkey]

Honestly, who the fuck cares if we call it a dwarf planet or a planet? It's not going to change a god damn thing other than calling it a dwarf planet. ....Stupid scientists

[Demosthenes]

It's called not having anything better to do. "Let's waste money and come up with names for shit" "YEAH!"

[Palin]

If they do classify it as a planet, they have to classify the other 3(i think) bodies a bit further out as planets too really, including Charon, Pluto's "moon."

[NynJa]

http://www.herlitz.de/fileadmin/Down...Kids/Pluto.jpg
R.I.P.

[Demetrick]

Honestly, who the fuck cares if we call it a dwarf planet or a planet? It's not going to change a god damn thing other than calling it a dwarf planet. ....Stupid scientists

Except that you were probably taught in schoo about 9 planets. Think about all the man hours saved. Teachers and school children only having to learn about the 8 planets. Also think of all money saved by not having to write chapters on pluto or just mentioning the "planet." Just a quick sentence after Neptune, "Up until 2006 a dwarf planet, Pluto, was considered amongst the other 9 in our solar system. R.I.P. Pluto 1933-2006" Thats it, ink saved, pages saved, money saved.

I fucking care!

[Krandor]

It's not so much about Pluto itself but more having to do with the definition of what is a planet. Pluto is just obviously the major symbol we see here since it's been the focus of this debate.

[Unklemonkey]

Honestly, who the fuck cares if we call it a dwarf planet or a planet? It's not going to change a god damn thing other than calling it a dwarf planet. ....Stupid scientists

Except that you were probably taught in schoo about 9 planets. Think about all the man hours saved. Teachers and school children only having to learn about the 8 planets. Also think of all money saved by not having to write chapters on pluto or just mentioning the "planet." Just a quick sentence after Neptune, "Up until 2006 a dwarf planet, Pluto, was considered amongst the other 9 in our solar system. R.I.P. Pluto 1933-2006" Thats it, ink saved, pages saved, money saved.

I fucking care!

I was actually thinking about text books about 15 mins after I posted that lol. How many schools actually have chapters on pluto though? Mostly they just make you memorize the names and you learn it's cold, and that's it lol.

And also, think about how much schools will spend having to buy new text books because the old ones still have pluto as a planet and not a "dwarf planet" lol

[Demetrick]

http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/space/08/2 ... index.html

if you watch the movie clip about: Watch why some think planet size doesn't matter -- 3:39, the crazy guy that waves his arms around mentions something about school text books.

[Shaede]

Gotta love those scientists and their bad puns on pop culture.

"Pluto is the under'dog'. Ha ha..."

It's a good thing he wasn't versed in Roman mythology as well or he probably would have had a field day.