Fight for Pluto !, A Campaign to Reverse the Unjust Demotion |
Fight for Pluto !, A Campaign to Reverse the Unjust Demotion |
Aug 24 2006, 08:24 PM
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Member Group: Members Posts: 548 Joined: 19-March 05 From: Princeton, NJ, USA Member No.: 212 |
Dear Friends,
Today I am extremely dissapointed that the Pluto Demoters have triumphed. I respect their opinion, but disagree with it. I strongly agree with Alan Stern's statement calling it "absurd" that only 424 astronomers were allowed to vote, out of some 10,000 professional astronomers around the globe. This tiny group is clearly not at all representative by mathematics alone. I believe we should formulate a plan to overturn this unjust decision and return Pluto to full planetary status, and as the first member of a third catagory of planets, Xena being number two. Thus a total of 10 Planets in our Solar System Please respond if you agree that Pluto should be restored as a planet. ken Ken Kremer Amateur Astronomers Association of Princeton Program Chairman |
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Oct 3 2006, 02:17 PM
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Junior Member Group: Members Posts: 48 Joined: 10-September 06 Member No.: 1129 |
QUOTE Heider: Mars in orbit around Jupiter. Titan in orbit around Saturn. Huya a Planet. Equal rights for equal mass? Perhaps the definition either needs to be ALL inclusive or dynamically exclusive! I agree with this. My original definition made any non-fusing gravitationally-rounded object a planet (including moons)...with sets of sub-categories based on orbit and physical traits. Although I still maintain this is the most scientific scheme...it lacks cultural acceptance. Do you really think people will start calling the moon a "secondary planet" as opposed to "a moon"? That won't fly. Since we have to make a separation between moon and planet...two categories for the same physical kind of object...why not further distinguish spheroids that are orbitally dominant and those that are part of a swarm? Ceres, Pluto, Eris, Quaoar, etc are all planetoids...that is, they are large enough to be a planet, but they are not dynamically significant bodies and thus do not quite meet the requirement for planethood. I think this concept is easy to explain. There are 3 types of large objects in any given solar system: Planet=orbits star, controls its own orbit. Planetoid=orbits star in a region of other objects and planetoids. Moon=orbits planet or planetoid and (IMO) also has to be round. The remaining small objects can be divided into asteroids, comets, and moonlets. All of the above classes can still have sub-classes. I think this is a scientifically good scheme. It enables us to teach the 8 planets, plus the Main Belt (which contains many asteroids and one planetoid) and also the Kuiper Belt (which is larger and contains asteroids, comets, and planetoids). |
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