A Bit More on Pluto, or My Atitude Thereof

[redneckgaijin]

This is in response to starcat_jewel and others who wonder why people like me are anything from irritated to furious at Pluto's reclassification, or rather declassification.

There are two reasons why I'm miffed.

First, the term "dwarf planet" is a copout. By the definition adopted by the International Astronomical Society the other day, Pluto is not a planet. Calling it a dwarf planet is like giving a certificate of attendance to those nineteen-year-olds who sat in their desks at school and didn't learn a damn thing and didn't earn their diplomas- it allowed them to pretend they were graduating along with everyone else. "Dwarf planet" allows astronomers to say, "Oh, Pluto's still a planet, it's just not a MAJOR planet."

People, if Pluto's not a planet or a moon, then it's either an ASTEROID or a COMET. We already have names for things smaller than planets. (And remember, the term "asteroid," or "starlike" was a term invented to disqualify Ceres and three other bodies from being planets.) -Call- it an asteroid or a comet- most likely a comet, given its icy composition. And if it's too big or in too regular an orbit to be a comet... golly gee whiz... do you think it might just be a PLANET?

Second, the choice the IAS had was either to disqualify Pluto or add new planets to the list. In my opinion, Ceres and "Xena" should DEFINITELY be planets. However, the IAS looked at the Kuiper Belt and points beyond, seeing the probability of more Pluto-sized objects being discovered in the next decade, and decided against it.

Astronomers decided they DIDN'T want to discover any more new planets. Eight is enough, they said.

Let me repeat: scientists in a field of study almost defined by the discovery of new things didn't want to discover any more new planets.

Instead they decided to chuck Pluto into the "dwarf planet" bracket, at the bottom of the "Tiny and Unimportant Space Objects" dumpster, along with over 100,000 asteroids and its two already named co-dwarfs, Ceres and "Xena".

Imagination? Inspiration? An astronomer craves not these things. Aside from the eight major planets, one rock's as good as another.

All of which makes me wonder; if Neptune had an elliptical, inclined orbit that crossed that of Uranus, would it be called a dwarf planet?

Comments

[starcat-jewel.livejournal.com]

Let me repeat: scientists in a field of study almost defined by the discovery of new things didn't want to discover any more new planets.

That is just about as wrong-headed an interpretation as I've ever seen in my life. They are still going to be discovering things as fast as improvements in technology and technique will let them; what they decided they didn't want was to call those things "planets" -- a word which carries millennia of baggage with it, and a category which the extra-Plutonian objects really don't fit.

Hell, we already have two categories of planet -- the "gas giants" and the "Earth-like planets". There's nothing in the world wrong with having a third, unless you're just DETERMINED to find something, no matter how petty, about which to whine and moan. But trying to claim that this is "not wanting to discover new things" is not just wrong, it's HELLA wrong.

And I will bet you $20 that if they ever do find the potentially Neptune-sized object that Lowell was looking for when he happened to find Pluto instead -- the one which might account for certain minor perturbations of Neptune's orbit, which Pluto is not massive enough to do -- it will be classified as a planet. So your claim that they're saying "eight is enough" is dead wrong as well.

[redneckgaijin.livejournal.com]

"Dwarf planet" is not a category of planet. It's a category of objects which are NOT planets.

More accurate measurements of Neptune's mass, including measurements taken by Voyager 2, have eliminated either the need or the presence of a supermassive Planet X. It isn't there- at least not within 50 AUs, which is nearly double Pluto's maximum distance from the sun.

[jinwicked.livejournal.com]

I'll tell you what, the amount of time people have wasted over this non-issue in the past couple days is some of the most retarded shit I've seen in a long time.

The realization of how big the solar system is given modern technology, and the amount of crap that's out on the edge of it, has caused scientists to reconsider what a planet really is and how other celestial bodies are classified. Big fucking whoop.

The only people with any right to be worked up over this are companies that print those "solar system posters" and nerdy grade school children.

[redneckgaijin.livejournal.com]

Eh, it's a few minutes relaxation time from my current major website construction project, of which the WLP Online Store is only a side effect.

[lonebeatle.livejournal.com]

How's the term 'planetoid' sounds for you? Since asteroid is 'starlike' then planetoid would be 'planetlike' but of course without really being one and it's easier than dwarf planet.
Seeing that poor Pluto is even smaller than the Moon wouldn't be farfetched to think that maybe he's a lost moon from Uranus (no joke).
I agree with Jewel, it isn't right to think that they don't want to discover more planets, hell, there are thousands of people looking at the skies every night searching for that celestial object that will propel them literally to the stars -and I don't mean UFOs-, also probably the IAS dudes know already that the Kuiper Belt is made of scraps left from the creation of the system and that there's nothing important enough to look for but comets.
I point that all this mumbo-jumbo has only served to distract poeple's attention from more important issues like war, political stuff and so -each have some of it in our countries.

Glad is over, and Pluto, well he's still there.

[(Anonymous)]

Well said. I would have suggested "untethered moon", but planetoid is better.


Also, nice work on the online store, Mr. Overstreet.


- A loyal WLP fan.

[redneckgaijin.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I've got pretty much all the WLP merchandise up, and now I'm throwing some of the old AP stuff up every day in the "Clearance" category at 2/3 off cover price (roughly, about a buck a pop).