8 Planets...

MC

New Member
💻 Oldtimer
Joined
May 24, 2003
Messages
3,989
Best answers
0
Location
United States, Florida
Well, now there's 8 planets in our solar system, Pluto being the one cut off. Pluto is now considered a "dwarf planet" and the other three have yet to be identified (beyond Pluto).

Article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060824/ap_on_sc/planet_mutiny

Another interesting note is that school textbooks will not have this correction until 2010 according to the news.

Discuss!
 
The Sinister Minister
Retired Forum Staff
💻 Oldtimer
Joined
Nov 25, 2001
Messages
3,637
Best answers
0
Location
Canada - Manitoba
It was an inevitability, imo, that Pluto was going to be dropped from the list of known planets in the solar system - after all, Pluto is just one of the larger members of the Kuiper Belt (one of the two main distributions of potential comets around the solar system). Essentially, we were considering a large, dirty snowball as a planet.
 
brainfeeder
💻 Oldtimer
Joined
May 29, 2002
Messages
5,179
Best answers
0
Location
Florida
I still consider Pluto a planet, because it has moons that rotate around it.

I don't really see why we're discussing the rules of our solar system now, anyways.
 
The Sinister Minister
Retired Forum Staff
💻 Oldtimer
Joined
Nov 25, 2001
Messages
3,637
Best answers
0
Location
Canada - Manitoba
Well, moons don't always make a planet. There's an asteroid (Ida, I believe) that has a moon called Dactyl, but it is still considered an asteroid, as far as I know.

As for the rules of the solar system (with respect to what makes a planet a planet), I assume that's often in a state of flux as more properties of each planet are examined if/when details become available. However, when you compare the assumed structure of the Jovian planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune) and terrestrial planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars) to Pluto, I always figured it'd make sense to dump Pluto from the list or, at the very most, give it some separate classification (which, I suppose, it now has - it's lumped in with the dwarf planets).
 
Live free or die by the sword
Retired Forum Staff
✔️ HL Verified
💻 Oldtimer
Joined
Dec 1, 2001
Messages
7,416
Best answers
0
Location
North East Pennsylvania
I've been a fan of not calling Pluto a planet since Charon, it's moon, is very near it's size, perhaps even bigger.
 
New Member
💻 Oldtimer
Joined
Aug 21, 2004
Messages
1,738
Best answers
0
yeah I heard it on the radio while driving home today, oh well doesnt really have an impact to me but nice to know.
 
Lost in space
Banned
💻 Oldtimer
Joined
Sep 20, 2003
Messages
3,211
Best answers
0
The three other planets beyond Pluto have currently been named Planet's "X" "Y" and "Z".

Read it in a National Geographic magazine.
 
New Member
💻 Oldtimer
Joined
Dec 21, 2004
Messages
2,417
Best answers
0
Chris` said:
The three other planets beyond Pluto have currently been named Planet's "X" "Y" and "Z".

Read it in a National Geographic magazine.
i was gonna say that.
 

MC

New Member
💻 Oldtimer
Joined
May 24, 2003
Messages
3,989
Best answers
0
Location
United States, Florida
Chris` said:
The three other planets beyond Pluto have currently been named Planet's "X" "Y" and "Z".

Read it in a National Geographic magazine.
They were named, but they aren't planets, they haven't been identified thoroughly.
 
Lost in space
Banned
💻 Oldtimer
Joined
Sep 20, 2003
Messages
3,211
Best answers
0
MC said:
... they haven't been identified thoroughly.
Yes they have. At the time of their naming they were considered planets and apart of our solar system. This new information would classify them as dwarf planets, but the change hasn't been made yet.
 
brainfeeder
💻 Oldtimer
Joined
May 29, 2002
Messages
5,179
Best answers
0
Location
Florida
Well, I guess Pluto does shake the definition of planet, after researching further.

But, calling something a dwarf is a bit harsh, maybe they can work on that name.
 
Lost in space
Banned
💻 Oldtimer
Joined
Sep 20, 2003
Messages
3,211
Best answers
0
Well there are already dwarf stars. So I suppose the name makes sense for planets as well.
 
Active Member
✔️ HL Verified
💻 Oldtimer
Joined
Oct 27, 2004
Messages
2,462
Best answers
0
Yeah but I mean now it's just adding insult to injury on the poor thing=(

But yeah I found out about this on the Colbert Report. I guess this will make the planet-asteroid line less blurred. Still, 'dwarf planets' and 'planets'? Somebody got an ego boost...
 
New Member
💻 Oldtimer
Joined
May 28, 2005
Messages
1,547
Best answers
0
Location
Johannesburg, South Africa
lol, the guy who discovered Pluto must've really been glad, I wonder how he would feel if he herad that they don't classify his discovery as a planet anymore? I really feel sorry for him...I heard about it this morning while driving to school.
 
New Member
💻 Oldtimer
Joined
Dec 21, 2004
Messages
2,417
Best answers
0
dwarfs are people too... so i think it should be the same for planets!
pluto looks pretty round... should have ample gravity... i wouldnt classify it as an asteroid or any crap like that.
 

[S]

New Member
Retired Forum Staff
✔️ HL Verified
Joined
Dec 10, 2003
Messages
437
Best answers
0
I've been saying pluto isn't a planet since before it was cool...
 

MC

New Member
💻 Oldtimer
Joined
May 24, 2003
Messages
3,989
Best answers
0
Location
United States, Florida
doubleowierdo said:
well now they have to make new books of the plantes now because pluto was on them
2010 is the earliest they will make the changes in the books according to what the news stated.
 
New Member
💻 Oldtimer
Joined
Sep 11, 2005
Messages
3,746
Best answers
0
I really don't care becasue I don't live there.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Top Bottom