Pluto Finally Gets Some Respect. Sort Of.

Started by King_Furby, June 13, 2008, 02:00:39 PM

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King_Furby


Allister

All I gatta ask is what really gives people  the right to just up and change something that generations of children were taught was one thing and now all of the sudden it's deranked all cause what? Some people got bored, gathered and decided that Pluto is now not a planet cause of it's size, I mean really, thats like saying a Midget is not a human cause of there size.

I mean really no respect..pluto gets no respect I tell ya.

RubySlippers

Yea I hate that Pluto is a planet ok a SMALL planet but its out there and we had it listed as one since it was discovered. I think the US should officially have a law declaring Pluto a planet in the United States then the rest will have to follow us.

We need to contact our congressmen and congresswomen to make it happen.

Vandren

Quote from: Allister on June 22, 2008, 06:45:57 PM
All I gatta ask is what really gives people  the right to just up and change something that generations of children were taught was one thing and now all of the sudden it's deranked all cause what?

Admittedly, generations of children were once taught that an imbalance of the humours and/or misalignment of the planets caused illnesses.    Not quite the same ballpark, but who knows, Pluto's classification could be important someday . . . maybe . . . possibly (ok, probably not).  :D
"Life is growth.  If we stop growing, technically and spiritually, we are as good as dead." -Morihei Ueshiba, O-Sensei

OldSchoolGamer

While I concede the possibility that a reclassification of the bodies in the solar system may be appropriate, I think the whole definition of a planet, as well as "dwarf planet," was lame.  I suspect this is a transitional arrangement. 

I liked the original draft where any body revolving around the Sun with sufficient gravity to condense into a round object but NOT revolving around another, larger object would be considered a planet.  A nice, straightforward, objective definition.  That would be Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Ceres, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Eris and Sedna.

Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars and Ceres would be terrestrial planets (rocky, with no to thin atmospheres).  (Well, Venus has a thick atmosphere compared to Earth, but not to the gas giants.)  Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune would be gas giants.  Pluto, Eris and Sedna would be plutons.

Heika Kinzoku

The new definitions really just open up a whole bunch of loopholes. I've seen various interpretations that say Pluto IS still a planet, since dwarf planets are a subclassification of planets, like a square is a type of rectangle. But then other interpretations that say that "dwarf planet" is a complete misnomer, and more similar to an asteroid than a planet.

Not to mention the fact that the organization that drafted the new definition (I've forgotten their name at the moment) was convened out of only approximately 1-2% of astronomers in the world, and the bulk of astronomers who did not attend that convention have expressed displeasure at the new definition.
"He can be ordinary in the best ways, and still dance like a poet through every word he says." ~ Sara Bareilles

My O/Os

Vekseid

Quote from: Vandren on June 22, 2008, 08:22:14 PM
Admittedly, generations of children were once taught that an imbalance of the humours and/or misalignment of the planets caused illnesses.    Not quite the same ballpark, but who knows, Pluto's classification could be important someday . . . maybe . . . possibly (ok, probably not).  :D

The problem is there are several moons (including our own) that are bigger than Pluto and that it is believed there are several hundred such objects out there.

Paradox

Quote from: Allister on June 22, 2008, 06:45:57 PM
All I gatta ask is what really gives people  the right to just up and change something that generations of children were taught was one thing and now all of the sudden it's deranked all cause what? Some people got bored, gathered and decided that Pluto is now not a planet cause of it's size, I mean really, thats like saying a Midget is not a human cause of there size.

I mean really no respect..pluto gets no respect I tell ya.

I think science and the quest for truth, facts, knowledge about our universe, etc. gives us every right to modify Pluto's classification. Most of the children that were taught that are now adults anyway, and for the children who are still currently young that were taught that Pluto is a planet, they can simply be taught that now it isn't one. When they ask why, it gives teachers an excellent opportunity to illustrate the diversity in size and quality/quantity of celestial bodies.

It's not as if a couple of guys in white coats had nothing better to do than sit around and pick on poor Pluto. This was the consensus of numerous well-respected scientists after a good bit of research on other objects in and around our solar system that are larger than Pluto yet aren't classified as Planets. Instead of losing Pluto as a planet, they could have decided to add a plethora of new Planets to the category. Then "all of those children" would have to relearn a lot more than they did with the current situation. We'd have a lot more planets floating around, which would cheapen the definition of a "Planet". By removing one planet from the list, it reinforces the classical examples of the other 8; whereas, adding new examples to the list would only serve to further muddle and complicate the distinctions in classification.

The average person doesn't care much about dwarf planets and subclassifications and whatnot. The intricacies of astronomical nomenclature really only affect the scientists in the end. It's not like Pluto gives a rat's ass what it's called; it'll still be there no matter what. It'll still have every geological and chemical property regardless of what a bunch of carbon-based organic matter millions and millions of miles away thinks it should be called.


"More than ever, the creation of the ridiculous is almost impossible because of the competition it receives from reality."-Robert A. Baker

Idej

Paradox is very wise on this stuff, and it is true of what he has to say.  I am not saying that I am joining, because I am an idiot.  I am taking his side, because that is for the most part the truth.

In order for things to be easier to categorize in the future about different types of bodies in space.  If the scientific community needs to make one simple change to make the system run smoother then let them do it.  In the long run we as common folk will benefit from this change in the future.  Don't know how, but it will.

LaCroix

We benefit from this change now, Idej. It might not seem like it but anytime we learn something new, we gain. Pluto was thought a planet for a long time but new evidence revealed it was much smaller than we orignally thought and by defination should be reconsidered and reclassified as something different than we thought it had been.

So long as that defination remains valid I say let the new classification as a dwarf planet remain. I simply just do not believe it is something worth getting up in arms over. Things change. People once thought the world was flat, they once thought the sun revolved around the earth and if you so much as dared to say different, the church would have you imprisoned because every knew ' the earth was the center of the univerese.'

We cannot be afraid or cry foul when new discoveries are made or we will cease to advance, cease to evolve. Knowledge and reason are the torch that mankind uses to illuminate the darkness of the unknown and define the world and universe around him.
Mickey Mouse's birthday being announced on the television news as if it were an actual event! I don't give a shit! If I cared about Mickey Mouse's birthday I would have memorized it years ago! And I'd send him a card, 'Dear Mickey, Happy Birthday, Love George'. I don't do that, why, don't give a shit! Fuck Mickey Mouse! Fuck him in the ass with a big rubber dick! Then break it off and beat him with it!

Paradox

Quote from: LaCroix on July 03, 2008, 10:34:48 PM
So long as that defination remains valid I say let the new classification as a dwarf planet remain. I simply just do not believe it is something worth getting up in arms over. Things change. People once thought the world was flat, they once thought the sun revolved around the earth and if you so much as dared to say different, the church would have you imprisoned because every knew ' the earth was the center of the univerese.'

Thank you. I meant to include that in my post, but it was already a bit long to begin with. Excellent point overall!


"More than ever, the creation of the ridiculous is almost impossible because of the competition it receives from reality."-Robert A. Baker

Idej

True, you have a very valid point there both of you have.  I guess this is what attracted me here as well, a chace to get into some more intellectual talk with others, while having fun at the same time.  Thank you for clarifying that LaCroix.  I tend to confuse people with what I say, but that is partly because of the speech problems I had when I was just a child.

Enough about me, lets get back to the main subject.

Sabby

.......

If Pluto is the little guy no one pays mind to, does that make Uranus the asshole no one wants anything to do with?

SOMEONE had to make a Uranus joke >.<

The Overlord


Pluto has always been exotic and unorthodox real estate, pretty much since its discovery in 1930. Up until that point the system was nicely ordered with 4 inner terrestrial worlds and 4 outer gas giants, seemingly partitioned by an asteroid belt. Due to factors including the eccentricity of its orbit and the fact it was such a distant terrestrial world, it's always been odd man out.

After the discovery of other Kupier belt objects came the realization it wasn't unique at all, but perhaps represents a third class of planets or worlds. Most of the outer objects have pelagic names to equate deep space to the ocean depths: Neptune as the Roman equivalent to the Greek sea god Poseidon, Pluto as Roman lord of the underworld, Sedna as an Inuit sea goddess, Orcus as an underworld demon, or alternative name to Pluto in Roman lore.

In this theme I am tempted to almost romantically class these planets as 'nether worlds', but I'll assume as time progresses and we gain an even deeper understanding of what lies past Neptune, we'll redefine all this at least one more time.  :-\