Pluto is not a planet.
Feb. 9th, 2006 09:03 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bjarvisThere, I've said it. I'm still dealing with the emotional aftermath of a solar system with only 8 planets, but I can now say it in public.
At best, it's a sizable Kuiper belt object, and an interesting one at that, but Pluto is not a planet.
At best, it's a sizable Kuiper belt object, and an interesting one at that, but Pluto is not a planet.
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Date: 2006-02-09 02:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-09 02:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-09 02:38 pm (UTC)Besides, the more the merrier! We just need a better name for the new planet ("2003 UB 313" just doesn't roll off the tongue).
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Date: 2006-02-09 02:44 pm (UTC)I'm already confused this morning!!!
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Date: 2006-02-09 02:56 pm (UTC)The fuck.
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Date: 2006-02-09 03:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-09 03:13 pm (UTC)While I'm not absolutely sure, I believe the perturbations in Neptune's orbit were later found to be an error.
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Date: 2006-02-09 03:31 pm (UTC)And you're cute!
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Date: 2006-02-09 03:36 pm (UTC)Pluto will always be a planet in my heart.
*/southern accent*
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Date: 2006-02-09 03:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-09 05:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-09 05:28 pm (UTC)The mystery of the Dark Planet(oid) lives!
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Date: 2006-02-09 05:43 pm (UTC)The astronomical association has yet to rule one way or another but I'm coming to terms with the probability that Pluto will some day be officially downgraded like GM junk bonds.
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Date: 2006-02-09 06:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-09 06:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-09 06:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-09 06:49 pm (UTC)It's the discovery which made the is-it-or-isn't-it-a-planet debate so timely: Xena is larger than Pluto but is definitely in KB space, so either we have to expand our informal definition of planets to include all KBOs, or we downgrade Pluto from planet to large, inner KBO.
There's going to be a lot more discoveries like Xena, Sedna & Quaor in the next few years so we'll either have a much larger sample space on which to base a decision, or we'll have a lot more rewriting of our astronomy texts.
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Date: 2006-02-09 07:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-09 07:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-09 10:12 pm (UTC)