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And Then There Were Eight
Aug. 24th, 2006 10:12 amThis morning, the International Astronomical Union voted on a formal definition of a planet, and ol' Pluto, way out on the edge of the Solar System, didn't make the cut.
Not that my opinion here means anything, but I believe this is the right decision. With the improvements in telescopes since Pluto's discovery seven decades ago, several new planetary bodies have been discovered out in the Kuiper Belt, some larger than Pluto. I think it makes more sense to establish Pluto as not-a-planet than to suddenly bump the number of planets to better than 50 - at least one body in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter was eligible for planet status under the round-body-with-circularish-orbit rule.
The Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud have hooked my attention and imagination of late. The objects out on the system's fringe are a whole new area of astronomy, and relatively close to home. A probe is on its way to Pluto and Charon now, and may be able to explore more objects in the Belt.
Man, I love science.
Not that my opinion here means anything, but I believe this is the right decision. With the improvements in telescopes since Pluto's discovery seven decades ago, several new planetary bodies have been discovered out in the Kuiper Belt, some larger than Pluto. I think it makes more sense to establish Pluto as not-a-planet than to suddenly bump the number of planets to better than 50 - at least one body in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter was eligible for planet status under the round-body-with-circularish-orbit rule.
The Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud have hooked my attention and imagination of late. The objects out on the system's fringe are a whole new area of astronomy, and relatively close to home. A probe is on its way to Pluto and Charon now, and may be able to explore more objects in the Belt.
Man, I love science.