Pluto's Demotion - TTLG Forums

zifnab on 25/8/2006 at 02:32

I loved Pluto like a brother. I'm gonna miss him...

Tocky on 25/8/2006 at 02:57

Maybe to you but to me he was cold and unreachable.

ercles on 25/8/2006 at 03:30

Dammit every time I glance at this thread title I think it is about the demolition of pluto. Now THAT would be an awesome thread

Pyrian on 25/8/2006 at 03:49

Quote Posted by Swiss Mercenary

Pluto isn't exactly in Neptune's orbit...

Yet that was given as the justification for Pluto not being a planet. I mean, either their orbits are crossed or they aren't, you can't say one is and the other isn't.

Quote Posted by Swiss Mercenary

...and the Moon is the Earth's satellite.

Technically. In 40 million years - very brief in cosmic terms - the moon won't even be classified as a satellite, we'll be a double-planetoid system.

Spitter on 25/8/2006 at 05:45

goddamn intergalactic segregation :mad:

Phydeaux on 25/8/2006 at 07:14

What about Rupert?

(obligitory HHGTGG reference)

Bulgarian_Taffer on 25/8/2006 at 08:37

This doesn't happen for a first time. When astronomers discovered Ceres in 1801 they classified it as a planet, but this didn't last for a long time.
I agree that Pluto should be demoted. It doesn't fit amongst the Earth-like planets - Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars, neither the gas Giants - Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. It belongs to the Kuiper belt objects. And after they discovered many objects nearly as big as Pluto, including Xena which is bigger than Pluto, what would happen if they're all given planetary status? 50 planets or more. That's why the new cathegory "dwarf planets" is more appropriate.

Ultraviolet on 25/8/2006 at 08:38

Quote Posted by ercles

Dammit every time I glance at this thread title I think it is about the demolition of pluto. Now THAT would be an awesome thread

I was about to say that too, then I thought "Hey, THAT would be the PERFECT solution to the planet/not planet ambiguity! It'd DEFINITELY not be a planet if it were a debris field!"

Bulgarian_Taffer on 25/8/2006 at 08:40

Quote Posted by Pyrian

Technically. In 40 million years - very brief in cosmic terms - the moon won't even be classified as a satellite, we'll be a double-planetoid system.

So Pluto and Charon is. The barycenter is not inside Pluto...

Vigil on 25/8/2006 at 09:55

Quote Posted by Ultraviolet

I was about to say that too, then I thought "Hey, THAT would be the PERFECT solution to the planet/not planet ambiguity! It'd DEFINITELY not be a planet if it were a debris field!"