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| Is Pluto a Planet? |
| Yes |
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| No |
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[ 7 ] |
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| Total Votes : 21 |
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Steelrails
Joined: 12 Mar 2009
Location: Earth, Solar System
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 Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2009 11:11 pm Post subject: Is Pluto a Planet? |
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I was over at cnn.com and I glanced at this and ended up using it in another thread, and now feel that it deserves its own thread.
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/TECH/space/08/24/pluto.dwarf.planet/index.html
My stance is that you can pry my 9 planet solar system chart from my cold dead fingers.
First they had Cookie Monster recommend eating vegetables, then they took away the only planet named after a dog. Is there no shame?!
For more scientific postulatings, please respond below.
Last edited by Steelrails on Mon Aug 24, 2009 11:31 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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DWAEJIMORIGUKBAP
Joined: 28 May 2009
Location: Electron cloud
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| Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2009 11:19 pm Post subject: |
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I'll not vote as I don't want to pass judgment yet.
When the spaceship gets there in 2015 they will find out hopefully if it is basically dead ice or whether or not it has a dynamic environment. I say if it's just a chunk of dirty ice - take away ' planet status.' If not, bring back the planet status and offer a sincere apology!
'Me want veggies!!!'
Nah, that's just not the same...
'Me want COOOOOOOKIIIIEEEEEEEEEE'
That hits the spot. |
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Fox
Joined: 04 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2009 11:28 pm Post subject: |
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Considering Pluto is the same category as Earth -- the category of planets -- is no more ridiculous than considering Earth to be in the same category as Jupiter.
If we want to get rid of the categorization entirely, that's one thing. If we're going to keep saying the solar system has eight planets and lump Jupiter and Earth together, we might as well keep saying it has nine for tradition's sake.
Cookie Monster eating anything except cookies is also an abomination.
Last edited by Fox on Mon Aug 24, 2009 11:33 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Steelrails
Joined: 12 Mar 2009
Location: Earth, Solar System
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| Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2009 11:30 pm Post subject: |
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Fox and DWAEJI..props for being the first two posters on this thread.
Last edited by Steelrails on Tue Aug 25, 2009 11:54 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Sergio Stefanuto
Joined: 14 May 2009
Location: UK
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| Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 12:53 am Post subject: |
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Firstly, I'm in favor of classifying as a planet anything that's spherical and orbits a star directly (regardless of its size. A dwarf planet is just a sub-category of planet, same as gas giant). This will increase the number of planets in the Solar System to at least 12, I think - but there are probably many more, particularly in Pluto's region.
Secondly, in the case of Pluto and its 'satellite', Charon, I'm in favor of them being classified as a double-planet system (two planets both tidally-locked to one another, in contrast to the normal planet/satelite scenario).
Last edited by Sergio Stefanuto on Tue Aug 25, 2009 12:55 am; edited 1 time in total |
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mateomiguel
Joined: 16 May 2005
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| Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 12:54 am Post subject: |
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| MY VERY EDUCATED MOTHER JUST SERVED US NINE PICKLES. now and forever. |
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bacasper
Joined: 26 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 4:25 am Post subject: Re: Is Pluto a Planet? |
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| Steelrails wrote: |
I was over at cnn.com and I glanced at this and ended up using it in another thread, and now feel that it deserves its own thread.
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/TECH/space/08/24/pluto.dwarf.planet/index.html
My stance is that you can pry my 9 planet solar system chart from my cold dead fingers.
First they had Cookie Monster recommend eating vegetables, then they took away the only planet named after a dog. Is there no shame?! |
Those pale in comparison to taking away Mr. Potato Head's pipe. Get your priorities straight.
But yes, I mourned for months when we lost Pluto as a planet. Can't really be resuscitated?
In 1975, psychiatrists voted to remove Homosexuality as a diagnosis from the DSM. If enough of us vote to do so, can't we make Pluto a planet again? |
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JMO
Joined: 18 Jul 2006
Location: Daegu
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| Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 6:07 am Post subject: |
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Of course Pluto is not a planet.
It doesn't have a regular orbit and there are many other objects close to its size in the same area. Therefore it has not cleared its area, therefore it is not a planet. It doesn't fit into the current classification of what a planet is. |
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mithridates
Joined: 03 Mar 2003
Location: President's office, Korean Space Agency
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| Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 6:17 am Post subject: |
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| Yes, it's a planet. The definition should be orbits a star + has hydrostatic equilibrium (=enough mass to retain a spherical shape). That makes Ceres a planet as well. |
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agentX
Joined: 12 Oct 2007
Location: Jeolla province
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| Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 11:02 pm Post subject: |
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| JMO wrote: |
Of course Pluto is not a planet.
It doesn't have a regular orbit and there are many other objects close to its size in the same area. Therefore it has not cleared its area, therefore it is not a planet. It doesn't fit into the current classification of what a planet is. |
I tend to agree that 'cleaning it's neighborhood' is key to being classified as a planet. As of now Pluto-Charon haven't really done that. It's a part of the Kuiper belt, and nothing further.
Yeah, I was annoyed when it was pulled from the pantheon of planets, but science marches on... |
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Fox
Joined: 04 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 11:25 pm Post subject: |
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| agentX wrote: |
| Yeah, I was annoyed when it was pulled from the pantheon of planets, but science marches on... |
Time for a definition of planet which can include Pluto then. This is discrimination. Sure it may be small, but it has heart. Much like Rudy, the loveable yet atypically small Notre Dame football player, it worked so hard to get where it is. Why do you have to take all that away? |
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Sergio Stefanuto
Joined: 14 May 2009
Location: UK
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| Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2009 12:20 am Post subject: |
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I'm happy either way, really. It was, after all, demoted to the status of dwarf planet - a kind of planet. If it remains the case that we have 8 planets - or 8 'main' planets - and a Kuiper Belt (of which Pluto is the largest dwarf planet) then it's hardly cause for hysteria. That said, perhaps the distinction between a planet and a dwarf planet is distinction for distinction's own sake?
P.S. I've just read the CNN article, and I do wish news sites wouldn't use pictures of the planets that aren't to scale as to their size. That's annoying. |
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Steelrails
Joined: 12 Mar 2009
Location: Earth, Solar System
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| Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2009 5:56 am Post subject: Re: Is Pluto a Planet? |
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| bacasper wrote: |
| Steelrails wrote: |
I was over at cnn.com and I glanced at this and ended up using it in another thread, and now feel that it deserves its own thread.
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/TECH/space/08/24/pluto.dwarf.planet/index.html
My stance is that you can pry my 9 planet solar system chart from my cold dead fingers.
First they had Cookie Monster recommend eating vegetables, then they took away the only planet named after a dog. Is there no shame?! |
Those pale in comparison to taking away Mr. Potato Head's pipe. Get your priorities straight.
But yes, I mourned for months when we lost Pluto as a planet. Can't really be resuscitated?
In 1975, psychiatrists voted to remove Homosexuality as a diagnosis from the DSM. If enough of us vote to do so, can't we make Pluto a planet again? |
I remember my mother taking away the pipe that came with my old Mr. Potato Head.
My not too into Astronomy head likes the round and orbits definition, but of course that would lead to other objects being included.
So I have to go with good ole' tradition as the final arbiter.
Actually a week ago I taught my afterschool kids about the Solar System and the boys got into a raging debate for 10 minutes over Pluto. |
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mithridates
Joined: 03 Mar 2003
Location: President's office, Korean Space Agency
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| Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2009 6:10 am Post subject: |
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| Sergio Stefanuto wrote: |
| I'm happy either way, really. It was, after all, demoted to the status of dwarf planet - a kind of planet. If it remains the case that we have 8 planets - or 8 'main' planets - and a Kuiper Belt (of which Pluto is the largest dwarf planet) then it's hardly cause for hysteria. That said, perhaps the distinction between a planet and a dwarf planet is distinction for distinction's own sake? |
I still don't like making the distinction between the two. One reason is because the distinction is quite irrelevant when it comes to our interaction with these bodies - if it orbits a star and has the hydrostatic equilibrium a planet has, it should be considered one without any of the nonsense about clearing its orbit. If Ceres had been thought of as a planet all this time as it should be (and was a number of times before BTW) then we might have realized early on that it's a better destination for colonization than Mars. I get the feeling that many still feel it to be just a big asteroid when it has a surface area the size of Alaska, Texas and California put together.
Reason #2 is simply because it's impossible to figure this out in other solar systems. It's a bit ridiculous to start announcing the discovery of planets that we're not sure are really planets or not because we have no idea how well-cleared their orbit happens to be.
That being said, I have no attachment to Pluto and have no idea why anyone else opposes the new classification for sentimental reasons alone. The Solar System has 13 planets that we know of so far - the nine everyone knows plus Ceres, Haumea, Makemake, and Eris. |
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