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Definition of Planet to be Announced in September

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the bigger-than-a-breadbox dept.

MasaMuneCyrus writes "After over seven years of debating, the International Astronomical Union announced that it expects to announce the official definition of a planet in September. After many-a-deadlock, they handed the task of deciding exactly what a planet is to a new committee, which includes historians and educators. 'They wanted a different perspective from that of planetary scientists,' said Edward Bowell, an astronomer at Lowell Observatory who is also vice president of the IAU's Division III-Planetary Systems Sciences group. If all goes according to plan, the wording will be proposed in their 12-day General Assembly meeting in Prague."

1 of 200 comments (clear)

  1. anyone want to place bets on by mgabrys_sf · · Score: 3, Informative

    Pluto?

    I've been 50-50 on it myself. I'm a fan of anything Arizona (having lived there), but apart from the moon system, I'm hard pressed to call it a planet.
    If Pluto sticks - then there's probably 100s of Kuiper Belt objects that qualify.