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IAU Demotes Pluto to 'Dwarf Planet' Status
davidwr writes "It's official. Pluto's been demoted. It's now one of several 'dwarf planets.' I guess we can drop the 'Period' from 'Mary's violet eyes make John stay up nights.'" (Of course, no one says you have to privately agree with the International Astronomical Union.) Several readers have contributed links to the BBC's coverage of the downgrade, as well as the usefully illustrated story at MSNBC.
many very educated men just screwed up nine planets...
if the answer isn't violence, neither is your silence / freedom of expression doesn't make it alright
My Very Eager Mother Just Served Us Nachos
How will this affect Sailor Pluto?
"Anonymous Coward" is for whistleblowers, not unpopular opinions.
Much vodka easily makes John seek urination naturally
Walt Disney is turning over in his grave...
I learned "Mary Virginia eats many jam sandwiches under Ned's porch." Now it will have to be "...under Ned."
And incredibly freaking awesome, even if it would be an extinction level event. I don't want to die or anything, but if I'm going to, a: I want it to be in a really huge explosion, and b: I want all of New Jersey to go first.
I remember failing a second grade test because I missed pluto! Time I march down to the nursing home and give Mrs Johnson a piece of my mind!
Actually, "dwarf planet" is considered rude.
It prefers to be called a "little planet".
(And besides, if Pluto is going to be the dwarf planet, which planet do the elves get? Or the hobbits? Won't someone think of the hobbits?)
DO NOT LEAVE IT IS NOT REAL
I don't like this at all.
You IAU bastards! Now, My Very Educated Mother no longer Just Sat Under Napoleon's Picture. Now, My Very Educated Mother Just Sat Under Napoleon.
You guys are sick. Leave my mother out of this.
Michael Coyne
http://turthalion.blogspot.com
Gustav Holst was right all along!
Pluto's response to the breaking news: "Damn you Neptune! This is all your fault! If I don't get to be a planet then I'm taking you down with me!"
This Space Intentionally Left Blank
Nine little planets, orbiting around the Sun, one was deemed too small, and then there were eight...
Eight little planets, orbiting around the Sun, one was deemed too big, and then there were seven...
Seven little planets, orbiting around the Sun, one had too many rings, and then there were six...
Six little planets, orbiting around the Sun, one got too close and melted, and then there were five...
Five little planets, orbiting around the Sun, one got too cold and froze, and then there were four...
Four little planets, orbiting around the Sun, one had too many clouds, and then there were three...
Three little planets, orbiting around the Sun, one had a clash with its neighbour, and then there were two...
Two little planets, orbiting around the Sun, one got bored and left with its moons, and then there was one...
One little planet, orbiting around the Sun, we nuked it ourselves, and then there were none!
"Fix it? It has been disintegrated, by definition it cannot be fixed!" - Gru in Despicable Me.
8 Planets and 8 Dwarfs? Sounds simple enough...
That's Size Challenged Planets
Thank you very much...
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
Excuse me, that's Differently Proportioned Planets!!!
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/8/24/102112/777
Just before coming down to speak with you, I called Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Saturn, Jupiter, Neptune and Uranus and congratulated them on their success today. As I see it, in this campaign, we've just finished the first half and the Classical Planet team is ahead, but in the second half, our team -- Team Pluto -- is going to surge forward to victory.
I am, of course, disappointed by the results, but I am not discouraged. I am not disappointed because I lost my planetary status, but because the old politics of scholarship and intellectual integrity won today.
I expect my opponents will continue to do in the future what they have done today: Belittle me instead of coming up with ideas to avoid having to rewrite science textbooks.
I will continue to offer the astronomers a different path forward to make my Solar system and orbit a better place to live and work, and that's what I want to do for another six million more years.
I know a lot of people in this system, and not just "classical planets", are angry about the direction in which the Solar system is moving, and so am I.
Tomorrow morning, our campaign will file the necessary petition with the International Astronomical Union so that we can continue this campaign for a new astronomy of unity and purpose. I will always do what is right for my orbit and Solar system regardless of what the political consequences may be.
Tomorrow is a brand new day. Tomorrow we launch a new campaign -- Team Pluto -- Asteroids, non-conforming celestial objects and planets.
Thanks,
Mike
Interplanet Janet, she's a galaxy girl,
A solar system Ms. from a future world,
She travels like a rocket with her comet team
And there's never been a planet Janet hasn't seen,
There's never been a planet Janet hasn't seen.
Argh. Now I will have that song stuck in my head all day long. Of course now that Pluto has been demoted, they will need to revise the verse that says:
Mars is red and Jupiter's big
And Saturn shows off its rings.
Uranus is built on a funny tilt
And Neptune is its twin,
And Pluto, little Pluto is the farthest planet from our sun.
If you're feeling nostalgic, the complete lyrics and a .wav clip
are on this
web site.
So, instead of the descriptor being a subset it is a superset.
Sorry, I should have said mutually exclusive set. Really wikipedia has a good diagram, but the orderly diagram makes it appear to be a logical distinction rather the linguistic mess that it is.
A: Pluto is a planet
B: No, Pluto is a dwarf Planet.
A: Yes, that's right I said it was a planet.
B: But it is a dwarf planet, so you are wrong.
A: Isn't a dwarf planet just a type of planet?
B: No.
A: Then why is it called a planet at all
B: uhhh, cause we are really just nostalgic about describing pluto as a planet
A: Is that any reason to screw up the defintion for future generations
B: Ah just get your own solar system, our defintions are specific to just this one.
Yes, in a few billion years. If you're still around then, you get to say "nyah nyah told you so".