... and then there were eight.
 

Astronomers at the International Astronomical Union's general assembly voted today to strip Pluto of its status as a planet!

Farewell Pluto! We hardly knew thee... :(

it's odd...not the ruling so much but that i have to un-learn something now.

my very excellent mother just showed us .... what, what did she show us?

:wave:

Why are they doing that?

^^cause the international astronomical union has finally come up with a definition for planet and pluto just didn't meet all the criteria.

Does this mean Disney deletes one cartoon character also?

So that means Charon didn't make the cut either then. Do you happen to know which of the criteria it missed?

Jude30,

Yes sir, to qualify as a planet:

1. it must be in orbit around the Sun
2. it must be large enough that it takes on a nearly round shape
3. it has cleared its orbit of other objects

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5282440.stm

How can I teach My Very Educated Mother Just Showed Us Nine Pizzas with no damn pizzas????

The article said, "Pluto was automatically disqualified because its highly elliptical orbit overlaps with that of Neptune. It will now join a new category of dwarf planets."

Hmmmm, since Neptune didn't get rid of Pluto, does that mean it's status is in question? :confused:

:roflmao:


I suspect the ice creatures on Pluto really don't care since they long ago figured out that intelligent life couldn't survive the heat of the inner planets. :rolleyes2

for me their will always be 9 planets

I want my pizza dammit!

Hmm.

With all the debris in their orbits (moons), all except Mercury and Venus are now in doubt. They all have clouds of crap locked in their orbits at the trojan points.

We've known for a long time that Pluto was a Kuiper body, a left-over fragment from the time the Solar System took it's shape, but it's still treated as a planet.

Astronomical correctness gone wild, if you ask me (please do).

My understanding of the reclassification is that with all the little Pluto-sized rocks being discovered with the new technology available, it was just a matter of time before we have to remember hundreds, or maybe even thousands of planets...so the question would be either demote Pluto or elevate a ton of cosmic debris to planetary status...
When I was a kid in science class, I thought it was cool that someone had only recently (in terms of human history) discovered a new planet, & that with ever-advancing technology I would probably live to see more discoveries...ironically, the new tech just showed how common & inconsequential Pluto really is...next we'd have to start naming the asteroids...

Sorry I ate the Pizza :corn: