Solar System: now with 33% more planets
Well this us utterly unrelated to anything Korea, but this is my site and I'll talk about whatever I like. Astronomers are to vote in Prague next Thursday on a new proposal concerning raising the number of planets in the solar system from nine to 12 by reclassifying the 'asteroid' Ceres, Pluto's moon Charon, and object 2003 UB313 (which hopefully will be given a catchier name soon) as planets. This would mean school textbooks having to be rewritten, and would leave the way open for further planets being discovered in the not-too-distant future. Exciting stuff. Just thought you should know.
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15 comments:
that's crazy! They can't even decide if Pluto is a proper planet and now it's moon become eligible!! How big is our moon? Doesn't that qualify? Would it have to be re-named....?
I agree with Bill Bryson on this - we need all the planets we can get whatever the outcome!
decided not to be lazy and found out...
Is the Moon now eligible to be called a planet?
No. The Moon is a satellite of the Earth. There is a common centre of gravity between the Earth and Moon, or barycentre, that resides below the surface of the Earth.
so now i'm reading about other potential new planets....
'These include Sedna, which could be the first object to be discovered in a hypothetical region of the Solar System known as the Oort Cloud, as well as several Kuiper Belt objects with comparable sizes to Pluto. '
so my question to you bro...is how is it a hypothetical region of the solar system?????
Found it!
Though the Oort cloud has never been seen directly, the comets that we do see are very strong evidence of its existence
My favourite bit about all this is this sub-classification "Pluton" which the new planets and Pluto fit into.
I don't know why, I just think it's nice. Sweet.
Can someone answer this? Don't Pluto and Charon have a common centre of gravity link Earth and the moon? Is it the fact that it is actually within Earth that classifies the moon as a satellite?
Thank you. :)
Matt, Pluto and Charon's barycentre is outside pluto, that's what makes a twin planet. A planet must also have enough mass for its own gravity to pull it into a nearly spherical shape - failure of this criterion is why Pluto's other satellites are still satellites, even though the barycentre is outside the planet for all of them.
lol your most popular blog entry to date and it has absolutley nothing to do with your trip!
where is Pluto's barrycenter then if it is outside?
and what a rubbish name barrycenter is!!
Get it together brother - the barycentre (your word!) of Pluto AND Charon together is outside pluto meaning that their common centre of gravity is in the space between them. ie. they kind of orbit around each other.
If Newton and Einstein can't agree on what gravity is what chance have I got?!
barycentre is not my word!
http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/kids/barycntr.shtml
This is great news. It may make us more understanding about the question of the universe, solar systems and everything within. The answer may not be 42, after all.
Unbelievable Ryan. 12 Comments (13 if you count this one). A very interesting topic it seems.
I just wanted to add a comment to make up the numbers ;)
I'd love to be the one to name the other planet/moon 2003 UB313..
It would be Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Ceres , Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto & Charon and Shaun the Sheep ;)
Well, thank you everyone. I am loving this travel blog. It is also informative in a brand new, scientific way. Ryan, can you tell me something about British history at some point? i've recently become very interested and you're such a wonderful teacher...
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