Harvard babbles about planets; NASA launches mission to Pluto to take pics

[blueblur121]

"by popular vote"
huh,
I didn't facts were democratic

I didn't you could omit the word "know" while still making sense.

[Ad Bot]

[Jubel]

just because a body has a moon (or like 5 whatever) doesn't mean it's a planet

if pluto was to be a planet, the kuiper belt wouldnt exist. simple as that

[Foxscotch]

something else I don't get is why everyone even says pluto isn't a planet
it's a dwarf planet. dwarf planet. pls

[Jubel]

dubstep may be a genre of music but it sounds like garbage to anyone.

pluto may have planet in the name, but it isn't a full planet.

[Foxscotch]

but it isn't a full planet.

yeah. it's a dwarf planet

[Flatflyer]

Pluto is too cool to be a "dwarf planet"
thats like, the "you tried" medal of the solar system.

[Bisjac]

rotating around the sun dosnt make something a planet. nor the size.
i cant quote the standards since im mobile and cant look em up. but there are specific things about a core and plates that makes an object a planet or not., regardless if the planet is "alive" or not.

[Foxscotch]

but there are specific things about a core and plates that makes an object a planet or not., regardless if the planet is "alive" or not.

err
no

The definition of planet set in Prague in 2006 by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) states that, in the Solar System, a planet is a celestial body which:

• is in orbit around the Sun,
• has sufficient mass to assume hydrostatic equilibrium (a nearly round shape), and
• has "cleared the neighbourhood" around its orbit.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IAU_definition_of_planet

[Blockzillahead]

The definition of planet set in Prague in 2006 by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) states that, in the Solar System, a planet is a celestial body which:
is in orbit around the Sun,
has sufficient mass to assume hydrostatic equilibrium (a nearly round shape), and
has "cleared the neighbourhood" around its orbit.

wow that definition is stuff

what is "cleared the neighbourhood"?
as in random rocks and dust around the planet? like SATURNS RINGS?

"has sufficient mass to assume hydrostatic equilibrium"
what does mass have to do with the shape of the planet
you mean SPEED?

orbit around the sun?
am i a planet too??

[Foxscotch]

what is "cleared the neighbourhood"?
as in random rocks and dust around the planet? like SATURNS RINGS?

it means the body is gravitationally dominant
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clearing_the_neighbourhood

"has sufficient mass to assume hydrostatic equilibrium"
what does mass have to do with the shape of the planet
you mean SPEED?

uh... what?

orbit around the sun?
am i a planet too??

yes! great point! everyone knows, if you meet only one of three requirements of being something, that means you are that something. good job!

[Xalos]

wow that definition is stuff

what is "cleared the neighbourhood"?
as in random rocks and dust around the planet? like SATURNS RINGS?

"has sufficient mass to assume hydrostatic equilibrium"
what does mass have to do with the shape of the planet
you mean SPEED?

orbit around the sun?
am i a planet too??

You haven't cleared your orbit of other astronomical bodies.  Earth has - everything else in its orbit either orbits it or is at one of the Earth-Sun Lagrange points.

You are not massive enough to have pulled yourself into a sphere.  Therefore you have not reached hydrostatic equilibrium.

Yes, you're kind of in orbit around Sol, since you're on the Earth and the Earth is in orbit around Sol.  But you're really in "orbit" around the Earth.  I say "orbit" with quotations because your "orbit" would take you through the Earth's inner core.

[Nomel]

dubstep may be a genre of music but it sounds like garbage to anyone.

nice b8

[Doomonkey]

The definition of planet has changed over the years. It isn't like people are saying 1+1=3. A definition of a word to describe a celestial body does not have to be concrete. It used to be that "nothing could escape black holes," but then we discovered Hawking radiation.

[-Setro-]

yet they still can't send men to mars

[WaterOre]

It's still 2014, right?
We've known about pluto and its dwarfness and its moons for 8 years, right?