TWELVE PLANETS???, wow. Options

[think!IMAGINARIL...]

The number of planets around the Sun could rise from nine to 12 - with more on the way - if experts approve a radical new vision of our Solar System.

An endorsement by astronomers meeting in Prague would require school and university textbooks to be rewritten.

The proposal recognises eight classical planets, three planets belonging to a new category called "plutons" and the largest asteroid Ceres.

Pluto remains a planet, but becomes the basis for the new pluton category.


The plan has been drawn up by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) with the aim of settling the question of what does and does not count as a planet.

Some 2,500 astronomers gathered at the IAU General Assembly in Prague will vote on the plan next Thursday.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4795755.stm


So what do you guys think?

I, for one, think it's crazy. How are we going to memorize them?
"Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Ceres, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and Charon, UB313??"
It doesn't sound right anymore!! And I've never even heard of Ceres before.. It's just gonna be really confusing with the planets and plutons.. And as the article said, it's not going to be that useful to astronomers.

[goodcharlotte]

Who would name a planet UB313?
I think that as science advances the general definitions for things such as plants start to loose its meaning and become more vague. I guess we are just going to have to deal with more planets.

[lovescream]

I think neptune should be the last planet in the planet list. I heard that there were debates on rather if Pluto was a planet or not. I personally.. think it shouldnt be counted as one. Plus, it'd be less for us to memorize! Them scientists should cross out UB313 and Pluto as planets. XD Or just keep it at pluto.

[dinoooRAWR]

uhhh. rename the gosh darn planet.
call it krabipod. [=

[think!IMAGINARIL...]

Who would name a planet UB313?
I think that as science advances the general definitions for things such as plants start to loose its meaning and become more vague. I guess we are just going to have to deal with more planets.

LOL. It's supposed to be a temporary name. They were thinking of naming it Xena or something like that. More planets makes it complicated.. It will give us a more specific definition of a planet though, i guess..

I think neptune should be the last planet in the planet list. I heard that there were debates on rather if Pluto was a planet or not. I personally.. think it shouldnt be counted as one. Plus, it'd be less for us to memorize! Them scientists should cross out UB313 and Pluto as planets. XD Or just keep it at pluto.

But the thing is that Pluto is the only planet discovered by the US, so astronomers are fighting to keep it.

uhhh. rename the gosh darn planet.
call it krabipod. [=

I'm sorry to say, but they only name planets after Greek and Roman Gods or something like that. I think we should name it Frapooglie, after my iPod :)

[*mipadi*]

Who would name a planet UB313?
I think that as science advances the general definitions for things such as plants start to loose its meaning and become more vague. I guess we are just going to have to deal with more planets.

On the contrary, the definition of a planet is becoming more exact, which results in more celestial bodies being defined as planets.

A council of astronomers are set to release the exact definition of a planet in September. Pluto might get knocked off the list—as it should, because it hardly has the traditional properties of a planet.

[think!IMAGINARIL...]

On the contrary, the definition of a planet is becoming more exact, which results in more celestial bodies being defined as planets.

A council of astronomers are set to release the exact definition of a planet in September. Pluto might get knocked off the list—as it should, because it hardly has the traditional properties of a planet.

So what definition have they decided on?

For a celestial object to be considered a planet, it must satisfy two conditions:

The object must be in orbit around a star, but must not itself be a star
It must have enough mass for the body's own gravity to pull it into a nearly spherical shape
Any object with a mass greater than 0.6% that of our Moon and a diameter greater than 800km would normally meet the second condition. But borderline cases will have to be resolved by more observation.

Some objects currently considered to be moons and asteroids could be eligible if they meet those basic tests. So the definition leaves the door open for other objects to join the expanding club.

In one sense, Pluto has been demoted. This world has always been the odd one out; it has less than one four-hundredth the mass of Earth and has a tilted, elliptical orbit around the Sun.

The IAU's draft proposal recognises eight "classical" planets - Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune - three "plutons" - Pluto, Charon and UB313 - and the asteroid Ceres.

Many astronomers think Pluto is part of a vast population of icy objects that orbit the Sun beyond Neptune, in a region called the Kuiper Belt. These objects have a different origin from planets like Earth and Jupiter; they are thought to be leftover debris from the formation of the Solar System.

The new category of plutons distinguishes Pluto and other "icy dwarfs" from classical planets in that they reside in orbits around the Sun that take longer than 200 years to complete, circle the Sun with high "inclination" (are highly tilted with respect to the classical planets) and typically have orbits that are far from being perfectly circular.

But the plutons fit all the criteria of the new definition of a planet, so Pluto does not receive the full demotion some astronomers had hoped for.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4798205.stm

Yeah, Pluto's probably gonna get knocked off.

[soEXCLUSIVE]

My very educated mother just can't show us nine planets 'cause... UB313? And now there's a new category... plutons? A bunch of textbooks just got outdated.

[alienshards]

I believe the number of planets should be the historical nine.

The definintion of a planet, which would only include the classic 8, should be used for future planets. Pluto should be given planethood on historical basis.

[goodcharlotte]

On the contrary, the definition of a planet is becoming more exact, which results in more celestial bodies being defined as planets.

A council of astronomers are set to release the exact definition of a planet in September. Pluto might get knocked off the list—as it should, because it hardly has the traditional properties of a planet.

I see. That is a good thing.

[demolished]

UB313 is known as Sedna which was named after the Inuit's mythology, i think.

[*yrrnotelekktric*]

Who would name a planet UB313?
I think that as science advances the general definitions for things such as plants start to loose its meaning and become more vague. I guess we are just going to have to deal with more planets.

haha, i dont think its the official name.
usually they give things code names before
making it official, like new elements
on the period table.

[datass]

Oh. I thought they were going to kick Pluto out.




wait a minute.

2003 UB313?! WTH?

[faithin_felix]

thank god i'm done high school! no need to memorize those extra planets ^^

[RxCore]

does this mean that we should add more sailor senshi?

Sailor UB313! YAH!

[think!IMAGINARIL...]

Oh. I thought they were going to kick Pluto out.
wait a minute.

2003 UB313?! WTH?

Haha. UB313 was a asteroid or meteor found in 2003 found orbiting outside of Pluto. I think. It's supposed to be larger than Pluto, so they want it to be a planet.

[bobby james]

Welp, there's more to the universe than we know. WAY MORE. I bet there are other weird/scarier/omfgoodness things about the universe we do not know and will probably never know.

But it just effs astrology up.

[think!IMAGINARIL...]

Welp, there's more to the universe than we know. WAY MORE. I bet there are other weird/scarier/omfgoodness things about the universe we do not know and will probably never know.

But it just effs astrology up.

I don't really get the point of your post. It doesn't really have much to do with the 12 planet problem..

And sure, there's a lot to the universe-it's endless (theoretically speaking)! But that's what astronomers and astrophysicists and spectroscopists and astronuts and those people at NASA and ESA and other places are for, right?

[bobby james]

I don't really get the point of your post. It doesn't really have much to do with the 12 planet problem..

Oh.

And sure, there's a lot to the universe-it's endless (theoretically speaking)! But that's what astronomers and astrophysicists and spectroscopists and astronuts and those people at NASA and ESA and other places are for, right?

Right.

[*mipadi*]

http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2006/08/24/3...is-not-a-planet

Pluto got demoted as a planet under the new specifications. Our solary system now contains eight planets and several "dwarf planets" (of which Pluto is now one).

[think!IMAGINARIL...]

They decided on it already? Wow. I'm impressed.

So Ceres and UB313 are now "dwarf planets, along with Pluto and Charon.

The scientists agreed that for a celestial body to qualify as a planet:

it must be in orbit around the Sun
it must be large enough that it takes on a nearly round shape
it has cleared its orbit of other objects

Pluto was automatically disqualified because its highly elliptical orbit overlaps with that of Neptune. It will now join a new category of dwarf planets.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5282440.stm

They still have to rewrite all the text books though..

[oXMuhNirvanaXo]

This is intresting. O_O

[lalalaLANUH]

HA I finally know something my mother doesn't.
Does this mean we have to memorize dwarf planets as well? I suppose it does. I'm glad I'm done with Earth Science

[think!IMAGINARIL...]

Maybe.. It's gonna be pretty easy to memorize it.
Well, when they give UB313 a formal name.
That'll be easy.

I'm done with Earth Science too, but I might have it in college, when I master in astronomy.. So, I HAVE to memorize it.