Lessons In Astronomy
Wikipedia-Definition of planet
Here's a simple astronomy question: how many planets are in the solar system? The simple answer: Nine. Can you name them all? Mercury; Venus; Earth; Mars; Jupiter; Saturn; Uranus; Neptune.
Pluto.
Ah, yes. Pluto. The black sheep of the family. Strayed from the center of our love many a century ago, now cutting his own orbital pathway for himself out there; living on the edge. He has also made some new friends in his own strange way, having fallen into a crowd that, to be perfectly honest, we really know almost nothing about. Just what do they do out there in the Kuiper Belt? We can't even be sure what to call most of them. All we have are some astronomical identification numbers and those really don't tell us much. What are they up to?
The discovery of these suspicious 'wanderers', with their questionable motives, has caused quite a stir in the scientific community. Some believe that this time, Pluto has gone too far. They are pushing to cut off his inheritance. Banished. Excommunicated. Removed from the family. “He is not one of us,” they cry. “Send him away forever.” Others beg for leniency, sure that one day Pluto will return in humility and leave behind his former selfish existence. But if they are right, it may very well mean accepting some of those friends, those 'Kuiper Belt Objects', for which he has forsaken us.
A new resolution may help solve this age-old dilemma. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has proposed—but not adopted—a final definition which is designed to decide once and for all the code by which our entire family must abide:
A) Sufficient mass to form itself into an at least nearly-rounded shape.
B) In orbit of a star, and cannot be a star or the satellite of another object.
Many questions have risen as to this definition. For the full details, see the SPACE.com article. The IAU intends to vote on the subject on Thursday, August 24.
Personally, I always thought that Pluto, along with all the other KBO's should be considered a sort of sub-category. Not quite planets, but not quite anything else. 'Dwarf planets' could work, but I was thinking of a term more along the lines of...oddballs.
Be seeing you,
Steven
Here's a simple astronomy question: how many planets are in the solar system? The simple answer: Nine. Can you name them all? Mercury; Venus; Earth; Mars; Jupiter; Saturn; Uranus; Neptune.
Pluto.
Ah, yes. Pluto. The black sheep of the family. Strayed from the center of our love many a century ago, now cutting his own orbital pathway for himself out there; living on the edge. He has also made some new friends in his own strange way, having fallen into a crowd that, to be perfectly honest, we really know almost nothing about. Just what do they do out there in the Kuiper Belt? We can't even be sure what to call most of them. All we have are some astronomical identification numbers and those really don't tell us much. What are they up to?
The discovery of these suspicious 'wanderers', with their questionable motives, has caused quite a stir in the scientific community. Some believe that this time, Pluto has gone too far. They are pushing to cut off his inheritance. Banished. Excommunicated. Removed from the family. “He is not one of us,” they cry. “Send him away forever.” Others beg for leniency, sure that one day Pluto will return in humility and leave behind his former selfish existence. But if they are right, it may very well mean accepting some of those friends, those 'Kuiper Belt Objects', for which he has forsaken us.
A new resolution may help solve this age-old dilemma. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has proposed—but not adopted—a final definition which is designed to decide once and for all the code by which our entire family must abide:
A) Sufficient mass to form itself into an at least nearly-rounded shape.
B) In orbit of a star, and cannot be a star or the satellite of another object.
Many questions have risen as to this definition. For the full details, see the SPACE.com article. The IAU intends to vote on the subject on Thursday, August 24.
Personally, I always thought that Pluto, along with all the other KBO's should be considered a sort of sub-category. Not quite planets, but not quite anything else. 'Dwarf planets' could work, but I was thinking of a term more along the lines of...oddballs.
Be seeing you,
Steven
posted by Steven | 12:34 PM
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