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Posted by IAU Realty on August 25, 2006, 2:30 am
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to reflect the new status of Pluto, as what?
hr
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Posted by Martin Brown on August 25, 2006, 3:37 am
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IAU Realty wrote:
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> to reflect the new status of Pluto, as what?
I shouldn't think so. If horticulture is any guide. Experts armed with
modern DNA sequence matching are forever reclassifying species into
more accurate groups with corresponding name changes, but in amateur
circles the old species names still persist widely.
And incidentally the defenders of the old order generate just as much
heat and no light claiming that the status quo is somehow "better". It
seems nobody likes change.
Considering that the Victorian taxonomists worked on the basis of
apparent similarity they did an incredible job, but the DNA matching
method shows up many errors and unexpected close connections betwix
unlikely candidates.
I reckon it is excessively sentimental to keep Pluto as a planet. It is
far too small and in a very elliptical orbit that crosses inside
another genuine planets path. I reckon the definition that any self
respecting planet should have its own home turf is a good one. YMMV
Regards,
Martin Brown
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Posted by RMOLLISE on August 25, 2006, 9:09 am
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IAU Realty wrote:
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> to reflect the new status of Pluto, as what?
> hr
Hi:
In what way? Pluto ain't going away physically. Nobody is proposing to
get a tow truck and remove him from the Solar System. ;-)
If there's any change required, it would be minor, like putting
"(dwarf)" in his data page.
Peace,
Rod Mollise
Author of:
Choosing and Using a Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope
and
The Urban Astronomer's Guide
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<http://skywatch.brainiac.com/astroland>
The Annual SCT User Imaging Contest is Underway!
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<http://www.rothritter.com/contest/2006/>
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Posted by Greg Crinklaw on August 25, 2006, 12:25 pm
Please log in for more thread options RMOLLISE wrote:
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> IAU Realty wrote:
>> to reflect the new status of Pluto, as what?
>> hr
>
> Hi:
>
> In what way? Pluto ain't going away physically. Nobody is proposing to
> get a tow truck and remove him from the Solar System. ;-)
>
> If there's any change required, it would be minor, like putting
> "(dwarf)" in his data page.
Exactly. Pluto isn't really a problem. It's the other minor solar
system bodies that appear to involve a greater change.
What I'm struggling with is what to do with the other dwarf planets in
particular, and minor planets in general. Under the hood, the orbit of
Pluto is handled in a completely different category from the other dwarf
planets. So it isn't natural to have them in the same category from
the user's perspective.
Should we add dwarf planets to the planet group or move Pluto to the
SSSO (SSSB?) (ick) group? Hmmm...
And since "minor planets" are no more, what do we call them? Ok, fine,
bring back the common term "asteroid." But should we really call a
Kuiper Belt Object and asteroid? Probably not. So we likely need a way
to discriminate between the KBOs and the asteroids, even though they are
all in the same big list of orbit data. And what about the minor planet
number? Like 1 Ceres? Is this now going to be called the Small Solar
System Object/Body Number? And if the IAU no longer officially makes a
distinction between comets and asteroids, then what? I really feel for
the people at the minor planet center!
I'm sure they either have a plan or will come up with one. But what to
do in the meantime? Gareth? You listening?
I think it a bit ironic that Pluto is getting all the attention just
because "dwarf" has been put in front of "planet" when "minor planets"
are now in chaos...
If anyone knows where I can get a copy of the actual IAU resolution, I'd
appreciate it. I can't seem to find it on their web site (you'd think
it would be on the front page).
Clear skies,
Greg
--
Greg Crinklaw
Astronomical Software Developer
Cloudcroft, New Mexico, USA (33N, 106W, 2700m)
SkyTools: http://www.skyhound.com/cs.html
Observing: http://www.skyhound.com/sh/skyhound.html
Comets: http://www.skyhound.com/sh/comets.html
To reply take out your eye
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Posted by Robert Sheaffer on August 26, 2006, 6:55 pm
Please log in for more thread options RMOLLISE wrote:
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>
> IAU Realty wrote:
> > to reflect the new status of Pluto, as what?
> > hr
>
> Hi:
>
> In what way? Pluto ain't going away physically. Nobody is proposing to
> get a tow truck and remove him from the Solar System. ;-)
>
> If there's any change required, it would be minor, like putting
> "(dwarf)" in his data page.
>
> Peace,
> Rod Mollise
Uncle Rod,
That's *exactly* what I'm doing with RTGUI! Pluto the Dwarf... it's
already in the new Beta!
Of course, if you want to find "Ceres", it's still under
"asteroids".......
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