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Should Pluto be renamed as a planet? What are your thoughts?

[nydailynews.com]

fidla 6 Sep 11
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And more Pluto trivia. The sky on Pluto, day or night, would be utterly spectacular because there's no atmosphere and the Sun is so far away it would just be a bright star with no apparent disk. However, even as just a bright star with no apparent disk, if one stared at it without eye protection, it would damage your eyes. Not as quick as on Earth of course, but you still wouldn't want to actually stare at it.

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While on the topic of Pluto, before the flyby astronomers expected they would photogragh a geologically dead heavily cratered orb like the Moon. Its core should long ago have cooled and so far from the Sun there should have been no energy source to drive geology. Instead they found an object that clearly has a geologically active surface, and as yet it's still a mystery from what I can find online.

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A very eloquent physicist that also likes laughter!

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See my responses below.

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I think they should have classified the planets as Inner and Outer Planets, the big eight, they really are in a class of their own. And Pluto as a Kuiper Belt Object or Kuiper Belt planet. I like this guys take on it: [theness.com]

Even a classification of Inner, Outer & Kuiper, as the four very innermost planets are significantly different from our 'gas giant' Outer planets.

Even after reading your link, I think I'll stand by my idea. I can see why Pluto was 'downgraded', or reclassified, but the criteria is a bit faulty. Using some type of my sorting would allow the Kuiper bodies, whether dwarf or the potential Planet X, to grow, which they inevitably will, without affecting the "Inner/Outer" solar system unless we find another 'dwarf' Ceres. Comment?

@phxbillcee Not quite sure what your argument is. The 8 main planets have stable orbits within a few degrees of the plane of the ecliptic, sets them apart from Pluto and the rest. Any classification scheme should recognize that.

@Druvius Mine went more, for the Inner/Outer, anyway, on appearance/composition. Tho sharing the same plane the four inner planets differ markedly from the four outer planets, & we may have even more variety in the Kuiper Belt. My classification merely divided the eight main planets into "Inner/Outer" & then allowed for the addition of the Kuiper bodies, in whatever form or orbit they may evidence.

@phxbillcee I thought that was the classification I was promoting. Inner planets, outer planets, and Kuiper Belt Objects. I think the whole Dwarf Planet category was a mistake.

@Druvius I may have misunderstood, even on re-reading, "I think they should have classified the planets as Inner and Outer Planets, the big eight, they really are in a class of their own. And Pluto as a Kuiper Belt Object or Kuiper Belt planet." I read it as the "Big Eight" as your inner & the Kuiper as your outer. I proposed a split in the Big Eight to Inner/Outer & then adding the Kuiper.

@Druvius P.S. Tho I think we may sub-classify Pluto as a dwarf (Or "Little Planet", as they prefer!!!), using that as the sole reason for re-classification (plus the dubious 'clear one's orbit'😉 was probably a mistake. After all we do distinguish between the 'rocky' & the 'gas giant' planets already.

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i miss pluto. i don't care if it's a dwarf planet or an ice planet. you can't just give that kind of status to an entity and then rudely take it away. pluto needs to be reinstated, and if that means letting all its icy little friends join too, then so be it!

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But think of the children! Memorizing nine planets and making a mobile of same was doable, but hundreds of planets!

@Druvius hahaha yeah! it's good for them! and the periodic table too, while they're at it!

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@genessa Generations of school teachers and parents wiil hate you, schools will have to rent dumpsters to haul away the mobiles ...

@Druvius i am used to being hated. at least now i'll have a good reason!

g

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I think it's up to Pluto what it would like to be called.

LOL!

Stolen...

@RavenCT I 'acquired' his & now did the same with yours!

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Don’t really care one way or the other.

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