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
Post
#1
|
|
Member Group: Members Posts: 295 Joined: 2-March 04 From: Central California Member No.: 45 |
-------------------- Eric P / MizarKey
|
|
|
Aug 16 2006, 02:33 PM
Post
#2
|
|
Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 2511 Joined: 13-September 05 Member No.: 497 |
The barycenter rule is laughable, IMHO. You'd think they could have tried a little harder if the intent was to handle extrasolar double planets in the future, unless somebody had some political agenda to make Charon a planet. I'd have tried to make the minimum barycenter distance some function of the body radii so as to exclude Charon.
I also wonder how well the hydrostatic rule will work in practice around the low end, something we are likely to see either for KBOs or even for the larger asteroids. Leave it to the IAU to overcomplicate what was a seemingly simple question. -------------------- Disclaimer: This post is based on public information only. Any opinions are my own.
|
|
|
Lo-Fi Version | Time is now: 1st May 2024 - 08:37 AM |
RULES AND GUIDELINES Please read the Forum Rules and Guidelines before posting. IMAGE COPYRIGHT |
OPINIONS AND MODERATION Opinions expressed on UnmannedSpaceflight.com are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of UnmannedSpaceflight.com or The Planetary Society. The all-volunteer UnmannedSpaceflight.com moderation team is wholly independent of The Planetary Society. The Planetary Society has no influence over decisions made by the UnmannedSpaceflight.com moderators. |
SUPPORT THE FORUM Unmannedspaceflight.com is funded by the Planetary Society. Please consider supporting our work and many other projects by donating to the Society or becoming a member. |