Pluto - a planet no more

[Dr. Jack]

Astronomers Say Pluto Is Not a Planet

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August 24, 2006, 9:49 AM EDT

PRAGUE, Czech Republic -- Leading astronomers declared Thursday that Pluto is no longer a planet under historic new guidelines that downsize the solar system from nine planets to eight.

After a tumultuous week of clashing over the essence of the cosmos, the International Astronomical Union stripped Pluto of the planetary status it has held since its discovery in 1930. The new definition of what is -- and isn't -- a planet fills a centuries-old black hole for scientists who have labored since Copernicus without one.

Although astronomers applauded after the vote, Jocelyn Bell Burnell -- a specialist in neutron stars from Northern Ireland who oversaw the proceedings -- urged those who might be "quite disappointed" to look on the bright side.

"It could be argued that we are creating an umbrella called 'planet' under which the dwarf planets exist," she said, drawing laughter by waving a stuffed Pluto of Walt Disney fame beneath a real umbrella.

The decision by the prestigious international group spells out the basic tests that celestial objects will have to meet before they can be considered for admission to the elite cosmic club.

For now, membership will be restricted to the eight "classical" planets in the solar system: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

Much-maligned Pluto doesn't make the grade under the new rules for a planet: "a celestial body that is in orbit around the sun, has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a ... nearly round shape, and has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit."

Pluto is automatically disqualified because its oblong orbit overlaps with Neptune's.

Instead, it will be reclassified in a new category of "dwarf planets," similar to what long have been termed "minor planets." The definition also lays out a third class of lesser objects that orbit the sun -- "small solar system bodies," a term that will apply to numerous asteroids, comets and other natural satellites.

It was unclear how Pluto's demotion might affect the mission of NASA's New Horizons spacecraft, which earlier this year began a 9 1/2-year journey to the oddball object to unearth more of its secrets.

The decision at a conference of 2,500 astronomers from 75 countries was a dramatic shift from just a week ago, when the group's leaders floated a proposal that would have reaffirmed Pluto's planetary status and made planets of its largest moon and two other objects.

That plan proved highly unpopular, splitting astronomers into factions and triggering days of sometimes combative debate that led to Pluto's undoing.

Now, two of the objects that at one point were cruising toward possible full-fledged planethood will join Pluto as dwarfs: the asteroid Ceres, which was a planet in the 1800s before it got demoted, and 2003 UB313, an icy object slightly larger than Pluto whose discoverer, Michael Brown of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena has nicknamed Xena.

Charon, the largest of Pluto's three moons, is no longer under consideration for any special designation.

[Victor]

We were taught in school that Pluto was a planet. I sure hate getting lied to.

[robertg]

next thing you know will find out there aren't rings around uranus.

[Victor]

Or no milky way or no little and big dipper. lol

[dollarbills]

just heard on radio that yankess have signed Pluto to a minor-league deal

[Bobtheicon]

Good. Never liked that stupid ice-rock up there...
It kept changing the "What is the furthest planet from the Sun?" question with Neptune.
Lets nuke the fukker.

[jaypasco]

gg pluto

[Hoosiercatdaddy]

Did he at least keep his gig at Disney, or did they strip that too?

[Keith]

Originally Posted by Hoosiercatdaddy

Did he at least keep his gig at Disney, or did they strip that too?

LOL--I guarantee Goofy is behind this ("a yuck, yuck, yuck")

[Jahred]

another Bush admin. consperacy here... we all know ther is Pluto, more to come.

[WildKat]

I'm going on a drinking spree until I hear that this is false. I am taking this hard emotionally. You see, I was "Pluto" the planet in out 3rd grade play amy a moons ago. My report card reads that I was a great "gloomy" Pluto. So, this news really hits home!

[Sara]

so what do I do with that plot of land I got so cheap? It was just too good a deal to pass on. Even has a great view

[WildKat]

Originally Posted by Sara

so what do I do with that plot of land I got so cheap? It was just too good a deal to pass on. Even has a great view

Word is that if you have your receipt, you can exchange it at any "Planet Hollywood". If you don't have your receipt, then Wal mart should be able to work with you.

[JeromeFromSoutheast]

This has got to be the biggest non-issue the scientific community has ever dealt with. Who cares if it's called a planet or not? The thing still exists.

[Jahred]

Originally Posted by WildKat

Word is that if you have your receipt, you can exchange it at any "Planet Hollywood". If you don't have your receipt, then Wal mart should be able to work with you.

are you saying planet hollywood isnt a planet? come on guy.. whats next? Youranus