Astronomers: We have found a 10th planet

[alnorth]

LOS ANGELES — Astronomers announced Friday that they have discovered a new planet larger than Pluto in orbit around the sun, likely renewing debate over what exactly is a planet and whether Pluto should keep its status.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,164171,00.html

Imagine, in a few years we'll be telling kids that when we went to school, we thought we only had 9 planets, and theyll look at us like we were all cavemen or something.

[yeti]

For some reason, it seems like I hear this about once or twice a year.

[morphius]

Read this earler today. I don't know why they can't just say that if you hold a spherical shape and rotate around the sun, then you are a planet. If you are in a spherical shape and rotate around a larger planet, then you are a moon. If two sphere's of similar size rotate around each other, they are a binary planer system. Anything smaller is a satellite/astriod/comet... Not tooo dame difficult.

Plus we are still trying to figure out how planets form, sure we have some pretty good theories, but I'm still trying to figure out how a mars sized object was created and put into motion to collide with the Earth to form the moon in most of the current theories.

[Slayer Diablo]

Have they really determined whether it's Charon orbitting Pluto or Pluto orbitting Charon? I'm still thinking that Pluto is the moon of Charon considering who's larger than who.

Anyway, yeah, I've heard of this 10th planet before...a few years ago, they were still trying to determine whether it was part of our solar system and, IIRC, it was going by the cliche name of "Planet X".

[Amnorix]

Imagine, in a few years we'll be telling kids that when we went to school, we thought we only had 9 planets, and theyll look at us like we were all cavemen or something.

This is going to happen whenever I get around to telling my oldest (currently 4 years old) that when I was a kid we had to get up to change the channel on the TV because remote controls didn't exist...

[Rausch]

Have they really determined whether it's Charon orbitting Pluto or Pluto orbitting Charon? I'm still thinking that Pluto is the moon of Charon considering who's larger than who.

Anyway, yeah, I've heard of this 10th planet before...a few years ago, they were still trying to determine whether it was part of our solar system and, IIRC, it was going by the cliche name of "Planet X".

Planet X was mostly the tinfoil-hat people who figured space lizards lived there. But the idea of ten planets isn't a new one.

[Slayer Diablo]

Imagine, in a few years we'll be telling kids that when we went to school, we thought we only had 9 planets, and theyll look at us like we were all cavemen or something.

Yeah, back then all y'all were being taught that Earth only had one moon...now kids are being told that we technically have two of them. It's only a technicality because the second one goes in a horseshoe shape rather than a complete orbit, though.

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/solarsystem/second_moon_991029.html

[StcChief]

DILIGAF

[Ultra Peanut]

<img src="http://www.blue-cosmos.de/system/planetx1.jpg" style="width: 394px; height: 359px; border: 0" alt="" />

OMG PLANT X

[Braincase]

The report I saw has in smaller than Pluto, and I've yet to come across anything regarding whether it's on the plane of the elliptic. Smaller than Pluto = non-planet.

[ChiefFripp]

Read this earler today. I don't know why they can't just say that if you hold a spherical shape and rotate around the sun, then you are a planet. If you are in a spherical shape and rotate around a larger planet, then you are a moon. If two sphere's of similar size rotate around each other, they are a binary planer system. Anything smaller is a satellite/astriod/comet... Not tooo dame difficult.

Plus we are still trying to figure out how planets form, sure we have some pretty good theories, but I'm still trying to figure out how a mars sized object was created and put into motion to collide with the Earth to form the moon in most of the current theories.

Well all the planets in our solar system are rotating around the sun, this one just has a tighter orbit, if it exist. Now a sphere rotating around a planet that itself rotates arounda sun is called a moon.

[4th and Long]

The one thing I keep seeing on the news about this so-called new planet is that it could be nothing more than a huge lump of ice and rock, in which case, it's not a planet.

[Thig Lyfe]

We should call it ChiefsPlanet. That would rock.

[Rain Man]

Yeah, back then all y'all were being taught that Earth only had one moon...now kids are being told that we technically have two of them. It's only a technicality because the second one goes in a horseshoe shape rather than a complete orbit, though.

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/solarsystem/second_moon_991029.html

Wow, that's pretty cool. It's like a ball in a pinball machine that gets caught going between two bumpers.

[Rain Man]

We should call it ChiefsPlanet. That would rock.

That would be sweet. Could we name various craters after members, with the size based on their post count?

[Skip Towne]

I think they forgot to count Chiefs Planet so there are actually 11 planets.

[Braincase]

That would be sweet. Could we name various craters after members, with the size based on their post count?

I get dibs on Mons Venus.

[stevieray]

update: This was just Cannbal looking in a telescope after smoking wacky tabacky.

[4th and Long]

That would be sweet. Could we name various craters after members, with the size based on their post count?
Uh oh ... looks like I need to start playing nice with Phil and get him to pull the old "artificially inflated Herzig post count" on me before this happens.

[PastorMikH]

Imagine, in a few years we'll be telling kids that when we went to school, we thought we only had 9 planets, and theyll look at us like we were all cavemen or something.



Shoot, Skip remembers going to school and hearing in geography about how the world is flat and if you sail far enough you'll fall off the edge.

[Phobia]

Have they really determined whether it's Charon orbitting Pluto or Pluto orbitting Charon? I'm still thinking that Pluto is the moon of Charon considering who's larger than who.

We won't know for sure until we get done with your elevator to space idea.

[morphius]

Well all the planets in our solar system are rotating around the sun, this one just has a tighter orbit, if it exist. Now a sphere rotating around a planet that itself rotates arounda sun is called a moon.
I didn't want to type that much more into, as I figured you would get the idea pretty quickly.