Save Pluto
Like many individuals around the world, I was horrified to discover that Pluto has been demoted from planet status. This arbitrary decision prompted me to create a petition, which I encourage you to sign immediately. If Pluto can so easily be discarded, how much longer before some governing body decides that Earth is no longer a planet? Then what? I ask. Then what?
UPDATE: Please see my second Pluto post for information about the online coordinated effort to “save Pluto” and the proper website you should be visiting to make your voice heard.
Absurdities! I concur and propose we take things a step further: let’s band together and form a “Friends of the Planents” league to keep further mishaps from befalling our cozy little solar system.
I propose that another planetary organization be formed to put a stop to the reckless behavior of the IAU. What right do they have to decide what is or is not a planet? It should be a galactic democratic decision. They didn’t even let Pluto have a say! (*Gasp* Oh no!) Oh yes. It’s like active euthenasia on a struggling planet. Instead of helping, they tear down.
They say it’s now a Dwarf planet. Now they are attacking Dwarves. It’s like saying Dwarves (I will capitalize to show respect…) aren’t people anymore. Our solar system’s existence and our small friends’ livelihood are in the balance. We must unite and rid the universe of this evil self-imposed planetary governing body.
Save Pluto
…and the Dwarves…
I’m leaning towards accepting this decision. Pluto and it’s largest moon actually orbit eachother. They are almost the same size. Add that to the fact that UB313 is larger than Pluto and I think UB313 would be more entitled to “planet” status than Pluto.
The new definition of planet is somewhat strange: “a celestial body that is in orbit around the sun, has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a … nearly round shape, and has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit.”
“. . . and has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit.” Seems woefully too general for a scientific definition. It needs to be more specific.
You know, when Pluto was first discovered there was debate over it’s planet status. It got accepted as a planet due to some serious lobbying by the observatory that found it. It’s all politics.
btw – here’s the official IAU statement:
The IAU therefore resolves that planets and other bodies in our Solar System be defined into three distinct categories in the following way:
(1) A classical planet is a celestial body that (a) is in orbit around the Sun, (b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape, and (c) has cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit.
(2) A dwarf planet is a celestial body that (a) is in orbit around the Sun, (b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape, (c) has not cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit, and (d) is not a satellite.
(3) All other objects orbiting the Sun shall be referred to collectively as “Small Solar System Bodies”.
And here’s where Pluto gets off:
“Pluto is a dwarf planet by the above definition and is recognized as the prototype of a new category of trans-Neptunian objects. This category is to be called “plutonian objects.”
Down with Dave and his “politics”! Save Pluto!
The revolution has already begun, David. No elitist attitudes will change the oncoming torrent of resistance. You can swallow up their “reasons” if you want while the rest of us fight the good fight!
Here’s a BBC article that demonstrates the lingering uncertainty over the decision: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5282440.stm
I see a mighty, frothing throng threatening to sweep over the world, filling all lungs with it’s cry for Pluto. A new revolution has begun. One without borders and without race. A single, pulsating entity striking it’s cause like a miner the coal face.
A striking quote echoes from down a forgotten shaft of my mind:
“Never understimate the stupidity of people in large masses.”
pluto + downgrading = meh
That’s right, Mark. Think of the IAU as just a codename for the U.N., and it will put things into perspective. By not signing, you are supporting the U.N. and all they stand for, as well as betraying your nation. It’s a shame that it is come to this. You can’t sit back and not pick a side. You are either with us (including Pluto and Dwarves) or with the enemy.
Save Pluto. By Dwarf bonds.
All my years of education will go up in smoke if Pluto is, in fact, not a planet!
the pizzas have been taken away!!! give me back my pizzas!!! my mom served me those and i want them back! you have no right to take my pizza!!!
The discovery of Pluto led to many questions about the planet. One of
the most puzzling was the fact that Lowell had predicted that Planet X
would have a mass 6.6 times that of Earth. The tiny dot that was
actually discovered could not possibly be that big, unless it was
extraordinarily dark. Estimates of its diameter, for example, ranged
from 6,000 to 14,000 kilometers. After the discovery of Charon in
1978, which permitted determination of the mass through a few simple
calculations, the mass of the Pluto system was determined to be about
500 times smaller than that of the Earth. This was a huge long-term
mistake and I am glad that it is now corrected.
Cliff notes version:
Pluto is over 3,000x less massive then was estimated in 1930. There
are 7 moons in the solar system larger than Pluto.
— Kevin Heider