Planet Pluto
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Pluto is officially a planet - an announcement which is already sparking controversy in the astronosphere (that’s the sexy world of astronomers). Seems that professional stargazers have battles just like bloggers do. The Bad Astronomer, as always, sums it up nicely:
The problem here is simple, really: we’re trying to wrap a scientific definition around a culturally-defined word that has no strict definition. Doing this will only lead to trouble. Why? For one thing, it’s divisive and silly. How does a definition help us at all? And how does it make things less confusing than they already are? Charon is a planet? It’s smaller than our own Moon!
Gawd, this sounds exactly like the whole RSS vs. Atom vs. Feed debate all over again - with a lot more comet dust. I bet our kids will have to study and memorize the names of all the plutons in the solar system soon enough. Coincidentally, the face on Mars just sneezed (five minutes ago, according to Wikipedia).
6 Comments
Phil Plait, aka The Bad Astronomer
August 15th, 2006
at 11:46pm
Worse, once UB313 becomes an official planet, they’ll have to name it… and the unofficial name is Xena! It has a moon. Three guesses what that’s called.
Irregular Times: News Unfit for Print
August 16th, 2006
at 5:44am
Pluto Demoted to Dwarf Status, Ceres Promoted to Pluton, My Left Pinky Named Matilda…
I read this morning that in a meeting of the International Astronomical Union, Pluto has been demoted to the new status of “pluton,” or dwarf planet, while the objects Ceres, Xena, and Charon have been promoted to dwarf planet status for th…
Lance Robinson
August 16th, 2006
at 6:51am
Are you familiar with 2 Skinee J’s? Here is a link (don’t worry, its free and published on their official site) to a live recording of them performing their song “Pluto”: http://www.2sj.com/downloads/mp3/2_skinnee_js-pluto_live.mp3.
The chorus? “Plutoooooooooooo is a planet!”
Geek News Central Podcast a Technical Audio Show
August 18th, 2006
at 10:17am
. No credit card needed.] [IMG][IMG] Listener Links: CyberLawCentral.com Survey on Checking Luggage NetNewsWire NewsFire Listeners Blog Sony Patent Sams Blog Vienna Show Links: 77 Ways to increase Blog Traffic Pluto Web 2.0 List Dell Monitoring Blogger Buzz Wrap Rage CSS Optimization Connexion RIP Jet Powered Scooter BlueTooth Hub Patch Tuesday Cable Debate Kiko On ebay RSS Aggregation China Cell Expansion
jim forde
August 25th, 2006
at 6:39pm
Check out my pluto demotion song.
http://www.purevolume.com/jimmyandthekeyz
Jim :-)
Arnold Speaks - Arnold Schwarzenegger on celebrities, politics and pop culture - comedy
January 11th, 2007
at 4:44pm
[...] Use Drugs Responsibly, Miss USA Hey, it’s me Arnold Schwarzenegger with some comments on the news of the week. I guess you heard Miss USA, Tara Connor, has gotten in some hot water for her drug use and partying. Tara should know better. You can’t do recreational drugs when you are a title holder. Back when I was Mr. Universe, I had a lot of responsibility because I was in charge of the entire universe. I missed a lot of parties and avoided a lot of drugs because I had to make sure all the galaxies, planets, and stars were running smoothly. Tara should’ve learned from the mistake made by this year’s Mr. Universe, Luco Lacobucci. No sooner does Luco get the title than Pluto loses its status as a planet. He was probably higher than a kite when the astronomers met in Prague and voted Pluto out of the Solar System. Shame on both of you for your crazy drug abuse.Labels: arnold, Miss USA, Mr. Universe, Tara Connor [...]