Re: Pluto is a planet again! (in Illinois)

On Mar 8, 9:10 pm, Margo Schulter <mschul...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Sorry for the giant snip Margo

These last questions, quite likely to arise in
many exoplanetary systems, may help explain
why the IAU in 2006 was content to adopt a
definition of planets and related objects
applying to our Solar System only, where some
of the knottier issues don't arise.

In short, one can affirm 134340 Pluto as a
numbered planet while agreeing with the IAU that
the "Nine Major Planet" paradigm is indeed
outdated and should be replaced with something
fitting our current state of knowledge.

Ultimately, what definitions one wishes to
adopt may reflect one's sense of aesthetics
as well as the scientific facts: I like a
Solar System (and many exosystems also!)
with a few unnumbered planets, but millions
upon millions of others also!

Most appreciatively,

Margo Schulter
mschul...@xxxxxxxxxx

Well,what they are trying to do is pretty nonsensical even in
principle and you literally have to find an entirely new word to
replace 'planet' in order to satisfy what they are trying to achieve
(which is ...??????).

The actual word planet distinguishes a celestial object from the moon
and the central Sun and the specifics of their independent motions
against the stellar background -

"Moreover, we see the other five planets also retrograde at times, and
stationary at either end [of the regression]. And whereas the sun
always advances along its own direct path, they wander in various
ways, straying sometimes to the south and sometimes to the north; that
is why they are called "planets" [wanderers]." Copernicus

Trying to isolate a planet as an independent celestial object exposes
where astronomy is at presently and it doesn't look good Margo,it
doesn't look good at all. I would say it is the astronomer's revenge
on this era for tampering with the great Western heliocentric
achievement in resolving the 'wandering' motion but that would be
small of me,but any reasonable solution is going to involves going
back to the state of play where geocentricity meets heliocentricity -

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0112/JuSa2000_tezel.gif

Honestly Margo,the good news is that they can't make it any worse and
if guys here want to suffer the indignity of having others resolve
the situation by non technical means then they will stop listening to
you in all other matters.There are 9 planets with the last one - Pluto
serving a multitude of different purposes,not least in that it is a
beacon for the return of astronomy ,at least I think of it that way.





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