Slashdot Mirror
Pluto Making a Comeback
anthemaniac writes "Space.com reports that the American Astronomical Unions Division of Planetary Scientists recognizes the IAU's authority to make a new planet defintion but expects it to be altered. Separately, 300 astronomers have signed a petition saying they won't use the definition. All this stems from the discontent over how only 424 astronomers voted on the proposal that demoted Pluto. Looks like this little dog is on the comeback trail."
Committees vote on YOU!
...in other news today, doctors tried to demote any penis that is not at least 7 inches long to 'dwarf penis' status.
The death of Pluto as a planet is going to be a watershed moment in my, albeit sad, life. No longer can I dwell in childish thoughts of a small comet like body with an excentric orbit being a planet. There are definitions after all. Definitions are an important part of adult life. I can't carry on wearing a cape and claiming to be superman anymore. Its time to stop pretending that my stick is a sword and my coconut percussion is a hourse. Yes, its time to put away such childish thoughts that led to Pluto's planetary status. A world of progress and commerce awaits us bold explorers who dare to stare into the blindingly obvious truth and confront it for what it is. Changing the definition is out of the question. We've matured now, ripped off the band-aid of addolesence in one quick, but fluid motion. As much as we would like to remove the bitting sting of pulling out a dozen arm hairs, we know deep in our hearts that we are better off as we are than as we were. Alas poor Pluto, I hardly knew thee, but though hast gone to a better place. A place where you can be amougnst your own kind. You were my favorite Planet, its true, but now you start a new life abielt less a less glamourus one. You'll forever be my favorite planet, dwarf or otherwise. I'll think of you fondly and call you every other weekend.
Well.. maybe. Or Maybe not. But Definitely not sort of.
Too late, solar system already took Pluto off of his Friends List.
For those of you at home who are playing along, here's the score so far:
~800 bc - Roman god of the underworld.
05-01-1930 - New planet. Also Mickey's new canine companion. Retains position as god of the underworld.
08-10-2006 - Still a planet. And a dog. Takes time off as god of the underworld to "spend more time with his new ceslestial family".
08-24-2006 - Demoted as a planet. Reclassified as a "dwarf planet" (or as they prefer to be called "Little planetiods"). Resumes job as god of the underworld.
Today - A planet again. Maybe. Title of "Roman god the the underworld" undisputed. Still a dog.
(ps. Tomorrow - Profit ???)
Shameless plug for my photos on Flickr
The rest of the world can use the metric planets that evolved in our solar system.
There. Everyone happy now?
This issue is a bit more complicated than you think.
I am much happier thinking that astronomers are in a hole somewhere in the middle of the night staring into the sky adding to the human body of knowledge [rather than] sitting in a giant auditorium fighting over meaningless bullshit and operating at the lowest forms of the intellectual discourse
:-)
Kind of like Slashdot, you mean?
Table-ized A.I.
Sorry..I'm studying for my GRE's.. Words like stygian.. I mean fuck you, if you know what that means.
Fuck me? Fuck you, you fatuous rube with your puerile lexicon.
All those damned illegal aliens coming and trying to change my language! Speak english! We define what a planet is dammit!
We can't take it back now, we've arlready sent it out in the "Arecibo message". We're going to like pretty silly to the aliens in the m13 cluster. So are we going to have to resend that signal, saying "Whoops our bad, its eight not nine planets....no really, we do know how to count."
I am much happier thinking that astronomers are in a hole somewhere in the middle of the night staring into the sky adding to the human body of knowledge, then sitting in a giant auditorium fighting over meaningless bullshit. . .
You're new here in science, aren't you?
Just pick a god damm definition.
Big Ass Round Thing! Big Ass Round Thing! Big Ass Round Thing!
Come on people, let's show these Bozos the power of the Web. Send letters, emails, customized party poppers, whatever; and let 'em know we want our Big Ass Round Things.
KFG
If you aren't going to teach kids the things that science agrees is correct, then what exactly _are_ you going to teach them?
Propaganda, same as always.
KFG
I think the books should be changed to indicate that Pluto's planet status is just a "theory", and give equal time to different scientific definitions.
We can't take it back now, we've arlready sent it out in the "Arecibo message". We're going to like pretty silly to the aliens in the m13 cluster. So are we going to have to resend that signal, saying "Whoops our bad, its eight not nine planets....no really, we do know how to count."
:)
No, it's a plausible deniability thing. If they're good aliens, they come here, we explain that we were very primitive but have since learned to count.
If they're bad aliens, we say "What? We only have eight planets. This isn't the solar system you're looking for. Move along..."
If they are bad aliens, we simply ask them if they want the same fate as the 9th planet had. They won't mess with us after that.
2*31*37*263
>Geez, you make it sound like they're just some random cranks who got together. This was a meeting of the IAU. Common human >consensus had tomatoes as not being fruits and dolphins as fish before people sat down and came up with a consistent definition.
Are you suggesting that witches are not actually made out of wood?
The world doesn't revolve around you, you know!
Wait... this just in: the IAU have had another vote, and... well, apparently it does. Or does it?
Genesis 1:32 And God typed
(bad) alien: "BOW BEFORE ZOD!"
IAU: "i hearby reclassify you from bad alien to good alien"
**poof**
(good) alien: "E.T. Phone home..."
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
Planet (from PLANETAS), means sphere/round. But seriously, does round mean enough for a planet? If Pluto is a planet, than so are my balls - they orbit around Earth. Distance varies, but on average they orbit 1 meter away from the surface at various speeds... My definition of the planet: Object orbiting a star, not outside of it's terminal shock, that has escape velocity greater than 4 km/s.
there is no issue with my network
I think we should be more concerned with nuking LV-426 from orbit. . .
disclaimer: I've been known to store numbers in my ass for which to dig out when quantities are required.
So, you want school children to learn millions of planets instead of eight, just so Pluto can be a planet?
Then they'd have to learn things like, "My Very Eager Mother Just Sent Us New Pajamas Which Didn't Fit Properly So We Had To Go Back To Walmart And Exchange Them For Better Ones But We Didn't Have The Receipt So There Was Nothing Else To Do But Cause A Distraction In The Store And Run Out With The Correct Ones And Then We Went To McDonald's And I Had A Big Mac With Small Fries But Then..."
Ok, the only way to settle this thing once and for all is to have them fight it out in a steel cage. The last astronomer standing gets to decide.
The more I learn about science, the more my faith in God increases.
The Object Formerly Classified As Planet.
X IMPRIMITE "SALVE TERRA!"
XX ITE AD X
Revenge of the Plutons: This Time it's Personal.