Will Pluto be Reinstated as a Planet Once Again?
Top scientists and educators will convene at Johns Hopkins University from Aug. 14-16, 2008 to explore a basic, but controversial, question: "What is a planet?" In August 2006, 474 members of the of the International Astronomical Union's 10,000 members took part in the vote that stripped Pluto of its status as a planet. Since then, numerous astronomers have expressed concerns that the new definition of a planet is confusing. Will Pluto be reinstated as a planet once again? Stay Tuned.
Comments:
"O-M-B" is a confusing combination of letters. A person learning English might be confused to find that the omb in "comb" is different from that of "bomb" or "womb". <br><br>The elevators at our theatre serve four stories: <u>L</u>obby <u>O</u>rchestra <u>M</u>ezzaninbe <u>B</u>alcony, so in the elevator you see the word "L-O-M-B" vertically in illuminated buttons. I wonder how to pronounce that acronym (LOOM?/ LOM?/ LOAM?)<br><br>"Andromeda Nebula" is a term Hubbell never put to sleep. He deserves as much discredit as Tombaugh for limiting his efforts to science.<br> <br>My wife & I saw an M.C. ESCHER piece in which a school of fish was swimming from left to right. My wife saw nothing but white birds flying right to left. DO YOU HAVE A WIFE LIKE THIS? <br><br>This moron is saying his 8" SCT was better than my 4" APO. Anyhow, my site is darker than his. My thing is bigger than his thing (which could be better or worse. My thing is not that. <br><br>On a recent test, my son incorrectly answered that there are nine (9) planets, the most distant being "a pair of somewhat similarly sized elements orbited by at least two small satelites". I say to heck (Keck?)with Pluto, Charon, & M31. <br><br>"I've fallen and I can't get up"/ "Clap-on Clap-off"/ "Be-Bop-A-Loo-AH"/ "Achy Breaky Heart". <br> <br><br>I am finished now; I must go meditate. "Omb...omb...omb...
I just finished changing all my slides, posters, and displays. If I have to change it all back I'm going to bill the IAU...
It is a great thing that the IAU has solved all the questions that were being asked about the universe<br> Now they have time for the more important stuff
I watched the "Great Planet Debate"...I did not find arguments made by either to be very convincing. But I thought Mark Sykes should have but did not put forth a better definition of a planet than the IAU's. Not that the IAU's is perfect but isostatic equilibrium doesn't seem to me to be sufficient criteria, after all even the Earth is an oblate spheroid.
Folks:<br><br>Definitions can be very abitrary. See my "tongue-in-cheek" write-up on why I think Jupiter is a star, not a planet.<br><br>http://www.astromart.com/news/news.asp?news_id=560<br><br>The criteria that I used to come up with that strange conclusion is that Jupiter radiates twice as much energy as it receives from the Sun.<br><br>In my simplistic definition, a planet cannot put out more energy than it takes in. An object that puts out more energy than it takes in is a star, not a planet. So, you see, we really do have 8 planets. The problem is that Pluto is one of the planets and Jupiter is not.<br> <br>I'm just kidding, of course. The point is that anyone can come up with a definition based on scientific fact and force-fit reality into that definition. There will never be a right or wrong answer to the question of "what is a planet?" The best we can hope for is a convention that we can all agree to follow. But that convention needs to be clear, simple, and unambiguous. <br><br>As far as the definition of a planet is concerned, I don't think we are there yet.<br><br>I hope this helps put things into perspective.<br><br>Guy Pirro<br><br><br><blockquote class="blockquote"><div class="italic"><i>Kevin Conod said:</i><br><br>I watched the "Great Planet Debate"...I did not find arguments made by either to be very convincing. But I thought Mark Sykes should have but did not put forth a better definition of a planet than the IAU's. Not that the IAU's is perfect but isostatic equilibrium doesn't seem to me to be sufficient criteria, after all even the Earth is an oblate spheroid.</div></blockquote>
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