Pluto, planet or not?

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: theprodigalrebel
Plutonium > Pluto

Now thanks to New Horizons, 11kg of plutonium will be flying past Pluto.

Originally posted by: Inspector Jihad
my balls should be classified as planets

Dwarf planets, at best.

 

[xSauronx]

i thought of it as a rock anyway, given the size, and always wondered why it was considered a "planet" to begin with.

 

[sandorski]

I've got chunks bigger than Pluto in my stool!

 

[MmmSkyscraper]

Originally posted by: sandorski
I've got chunks bigger than Pluto in my stool!

The ATOT doctor is in...

 

[Fritzo]

Originally posted by: Jeff7

Originally posted by: IcebergSlim
Astronomy is for the most part completely irrelevant

Bah, I gave a speech (for a required course, Effective Speech) not long ago about the importance of pure science, and I don't care to transcribe it right now. Long story short: listen to or read anything that Carl Sagan's written. Or at least Google "reflections on a mote of dust."

It helps us to learn about our surroundings, and to learn our place in the Universe. NASA and the space program, in trying to explore other planets and space itself, often turn out technological spinoffs, some of which find use in the medical field, or can lead to safety improvements in other sectors. Hardly irrelevant.
Maybe if I can find some other relevant postings of mine, I'll paste them in here.


The closing from that speech:
"What is this pure science about? It's about exploration, it's about discovery, it?s about seeing how limiting our boundaries as a species really are. In many cases, it can have very practical applications, sometimes found accidentally. From distant ancestors who chanced upon the discovery of creating fire at will, from striking flintrock together, to humans today who channel that fire to send robotic explorers to distant worlds, there has always been within us a quest to discover, and to push ourselves over new horizons. It?s a quest to learn more about ourselves, what we can do, and where we can go."
The professor thought that that was a quote which I forgot to attribute to Carl Sagan. Nope, all me.

Yeah! Without the space program, we wouldn't have Velcro for Iceberg's shoes!

 

[Modeps]

2 Skinnee J's say its a planet... who am I to argue?

With depravity I break laws of gravity
Blast past the atmosphere to the last frontier
I go boldly through space and time
The sky's the limit but they're limiting the sky
I break orbit by habit
I ignite satellites and leave rings round the planets
A flying ace like that beagle
Nevertheless this alien remains illegal
'Cause their discovery don?t cover me
The immigrant's been left in the cold to grow old and disintegrate
Discriminate against the distant and disclaim this
'Cause their small minds can't see past Uranus
But I shun their rays
'Cause stun's just a phase
And my odyssey runs in two-thousand and one ways
And I can see clearly now like Hubble
Shoved off the shuttle here's my rebuttal

It's a planet.

Who do you represent?
I represent the smallest planet
Attorney in this tourney versus those who tried to ban it
If you don't agree go see interplanet Janet
Cause sun is star like Pluto is planet
So lend me all ears and let me state my case
about all the types of satellites we must embrace
Cause like my parents' great grandparents - this planet is an immigrant,
to deport it?s an offense
It's an upstanding member of the solar system
Apply the laws of Earth and make it a victim
Of Proposition 187
If Pluto spawns a moon, it will apply to the heavens.
I'll damn you like Judas of Iscariot
If you demote this mote remote to affiliate
It's like taking ET's custody from Elliot
Support your Lilliput, 'cause simply put

Pluto is a planet

Do it for the children
(If not for yourselves)
Pluto is a planet

 

[judasmachine]

it's a cold rock somewhere out there, way out there.

 

[Specop 007]

Originally posted by: Jeff7
Don't mind, don't care. "Planet" is just a label created by us. It's still Pluto, it's still there, the same object it's been since before humans existed, and regardless of what it's called, it's still got the honor of having a probe being sent to it on a flyby mission. It is a Kuiper Belt object - it's among a collection of objects which share a 3:2 orbital resonance period with Neptune.
Is "planet" an appropriate title? Jupiter's satellite, Ganymede, is larger than Mercury, but, at least classically, it was never called a planet, only a satellite.

It amuses me that so many people got all in a fit because of Pluto. Most of them probably couldn't name the planets in order, most of them probably don't know how many boosters the shuttle has, etc etc - they don't know a thing about the Solar System or space exploration in general. But in this culture with competitions constantly in the media, now, "OMG, Pluto's been demoted? NOOOOOO!!!1!!!" Like they really cared in the first place.

Haha, well said and probably more true then most would care to admit!

 

[Xavier434]

I stopped thinking of it as a planet after I found out it is split into two halves.