Pluto

[Tom Bone offline]

What do you think of it being not considered a planet anymore? I think it should be still because their not updating textbooks 'till 2010 and also it's been a planet since the 1920s(?) why stop now?

[Rail Runner offline]

well..on Coast to Coast last night, they had a scientist on there explaining why it isnt a planet anymore...and here is the explanation

First off, ever since Pluto was named in the 1930's..not 20's...the planet itself has been shrinking...physically...and as of now...our moon is bigger than Pluto..and that is saying quite a bit at this point...the scientists have a guideline for what dictates an astral body as being a planet or not...and it just so happens that due to Plutos changes, it has fallen out of that guideline...hence the decision to unplanetize it....but you know what...its still there, and its still orbiting the sun...so I will always consider it a planet, whether the scientists consider it one or not...in my heart and mind, its a planet.

[TL.]

That and amongst other things little Pluto is too small to be classified as a planet. And if it was, 3 more planets would have been added the solar system, and those rhymes everyone uses to memorise the planets and their positions would get completely screwed up and everyone would have got pissed off..

[CotS offline]

...so I will always consider it a planet, whether the scientists consider it one or not...in my heart and mind, its a planet.

Me to.

[Skysong offline]

I don't think it's a planet. It's a silly little rock that got special treatment. I mean, its orbit is so weird it'll switch places with Neptune every once in a great while.

Besides, adding two planets just to keep Pluto (which was pathetic in the first place) is absolutely ridiculous.

[oddsgrlfriend offline]

*is in shock to much to reply at all*

[Rail Runner offline]

true, I understand that point..but its hard in your mind to change something that has been taught for years..its just gonna take everyone a while to get used to the idea...it doesnt bother me one way or the other. We have only gotten to Mars so far, so yeah, it doesnt bother me at all.

[Ghost Guest offline]

Pluto isn't considered a planet anymore??? When did that happen?

[Rail Runner offline]

as of yesterday...or the day before..but news is just getting around now.

[Jeremified offline]

I KNOW! It's so weird, but plausible...

[Rail Runner offline]

this just goes to show you that the scientific community is always working or changing something.

[Jeremified offline]

I really think they might be right; there should be a poll.

OT: What's with the locked topic from ambr777? Are people trying to advertise here nowadays? Man I hate that.

[Keiji offline]

Yeah, I think Pluto shouldn't be a planet.

[Chosen_one offline]

Ever since I found out about the existence of Quaoar and later, the existence of Sedna, I thought there were 11 planets.

But then, the scientists have a point. Pluto's orbit is more elliptical than the other planets. I mean, every 248 years, Pluto is closer to the sun than Neptune. That kind of stuff only happens to comets. Goodbye, Quaoar and Sedna.

Although, the loss of Pluto does mess up "My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas," unless you don't mind saying "My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Nine..."

[Lani offline]

It'd be like 'My very excellent mother just served us.... nuts.' Or something. o__O;

Anyway. DDx I liked Pluto as a planet! Cause it was small and midgety kinda like me! Ah well. Since I'm still human, then Pluto's still a planet to me.

[darktemplar offline]

As for me Pluto doesn't fit like planet. I don't think it's a planet for strange orbit and being a piece of rock behind gas giants.

[UltimaHedgie offline]

Pluto was 'de-planetized' by the scientific community? Bah, they've been wrong many times in the past. In fact, many scientists love lying in modern times. There are many good scientists, yes, but many of them do lie.

Besides this, they've been wrong often in the past. There was once a time when the majority of the scientists thought the Earth was the center of the universe. There was once a time when the majority of the scientists thought that big rocks fall faster than small ones...

Truly, the 'majority' doesn't prove a thing. In this case, no longer considering pluto a planet isn't neccessarily an incorrect or bad move. Pluto probably shouldn't of been considered a planet in the first place due to it's size and orbit, compared to the rest of the planets.

One more thing. Where the heck did the saying "My Very Excellant Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas" come from? I certainly never heard it before. It's obvious what it means, but I never heard it before.

[CotS offline]

As for me Pluto doesn't fit like planet. I don't think it's a planet for strange orbit and being a piece of rock behind gas giants.

If I remember right pluto is a gas planet it's just so far out that the gasses have frozen.

[Rail Runner offline]

also, it has shrunken to less than the size of our moon, which isnt even a planet, and size is one of the guidelines for being a planet..along with a few other reasons.

[Sithking Zero offline]

It's still a planet in my book!

[SilverPrince offline]

Personally, I'm glad Pluto has been stripped of it's planet status. I saw a documentary a few years back about Pluto, which claimed that Pluto was a Kuiper Belt Object (For those of you who might not know, the Kuiper Belt is a grouping of asteroids and comets that orbit the sun at a range of 20-50 AU) I was convinced that Pluto was not a planet.

[Rail Runner offline]

Yeah, I saw the same documentary..it was definitely interesting, but back then I never thought they would strip it of its status..but its ok.

[Overcaffeinated Sloth offline]

Well, I personally am fine with it not being a planet. Logically, the closer you are to a gravity source and a heat source, your structure is smaller and much denser. That's how the four inner planets re known. However, from Jupiter to Neptune, all the planets there are made of gases, and sufficiently larger. So, following that, Pluto's just a spare rock that's been caught in an awkward orbit.

[Tangent128 offline]

Pluto isn't shrinking; they did originally overestimate its size, though...
The issue is, they needed a consistent definition of "planet"; they decided that the following criteria had to be met:

1) It goes around the Sun.
2) It has enough gravity to pull itself into a spherical shape.
3) It has to have "cleared its neighborhood" (or orbit) of other objects.

Pluto meets the first two, but not the third.

Personally, I favor keeping Pluto and adding the other objects. For instance, add Ceres and Xena to get...

My Very Energetic Mother, Collien, Just Served Us Nine Pizzas. eXcellent!

...I'm looking forward to expanding that to a paragraph.

Besides, dropping Pluto would ruin the best episode of The Magic School Bus!

[CotS offline]

lol I only barely remember that show.