Experts meet to decide Pluto fate, Finally we'll know what a 'planet' is... |
Experts meet to decide Pluto fate, Finally we'll know what a 'planet' is... |
Aug 14 2006, 06:06 AM
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#1
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Member Group: Members Posts: 295 Joined: 2-March 04 From: Central California Member No.: 45 |
-------------------- Eric P / MizarKey
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Aug 14 2006, 02:46 PM
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#2
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Rover Driver Group: Members Posts: 1015 Joined: 4-March 04 Member No.: 47 |
JRehling, that's one of the most sensible arguments I've heard in this eternal discussion :-)
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Aug 14 2006, 05:22 PM
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#3
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Member Group: Members Posts: 809 Joined: 11-March 04 Member No.: 56 |
I agree that the divisions are arbitrary, that the term planet is "cultural" (or historical) rather than scientific, and I would also suggest that -- as we learn more about extrasolar systems -- classificatory systems that make sense in terms of our own solar system may be useless when discussing other systems.
However, in practical terms, the IAU as a nomenclatorial body has dug itself into its own ditch by having one set of naming conventions for "major planets" and another set for "minor planets" and TNOs: without ever stating what the distinction was. The fatal result of this imprecision is that the IAU was forced to make a determination on where the boundary between major and minor planets was as soon as an object larger than Pluto was discovered. It would be helpful if the IAU would stress the limits of the decision that they are going to make: not that they are going to define what a planet is for all time, but that they are clarifying, for their own purposes, what the word "planet" means in terms of their rules of nomenclature, and that they cannot rule on how the word "planet" might be used in other circumstances. |
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