[meteorite-list] OT: HOW MANY PLANETS?

From: Dawn & Gerald Flaherty <grf2_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed Aug 3 22:26:07 2005
Message-ID: <03b901c5989b$d519ae30$6502a8c0_at_GerryLaptop>

If Earth suddenly was catapulted into a
25 degree inclination ...would it cease being a planet?
Not necessarily, but there wouldn't be any controversy cause there'd be no
one left the testify to anything!!!
Jerry
----- Original Message -----
From: <MexicoDoug_at_aol.com>
To: <baalke_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>; <meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Wednesday, August 03, 2005 7:14 PM
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] OT: HOW MANY PLANETS?


> Ron B. wrote:
>
> >Incidently, if you demote Pluto from being a planet, then the
> >definition for a planet becomes much easier. If you include
> >Pluto as a planet, then the definition is going to get
> >more complicated.
>
> Complicated it can be, not dumbed down, with or without Pluto. Arbitrary
> numerical criteria are useless to science in the long run whether they be
"9
> units", "20 degrees" or "3025 miles". They are more like taxing
authorities
> saying..."if you own more than 20% of the company's stock, you must make
> special declarations". That is a foolish angle for the IAU to put itself
in, and
> more typical of the thinking of mediocre government employees or
bureacrats
> looking to reduce their workloads (not that we aren't all guilty at
times).
>
> My personal thoughts of a planet rely on a permanent atmosphere or proven
or
> potential geological process (major igneous activity, liberally
considered)
> basis and prime orbit about the Sun. If Earth suddenly was catapulted
into a
> 25 degree inclination ...would it cease being a planet? Perhaps my
> definition even excludes Pluto by not for a senseless inclination cutoff,
especially
> after its hypothetical encounter with Neptune sent it there, or perhaps
not.
> Vesta is always as bright or brighter than Neptune, and occasionally
trumps
> Uranus, so something is out of wack here...the ancients would have called
> Vesta a wanderer if they didn't carelessly overlook documenting it. (It
owes
> that brightness to 'geo'logical processes, namely the reflectivity of
eucrite.)
>
> If Earth were catapulted into the Kuiper Belt would it cease being a
planet?
> Wait until an Earth sized ball is found out there...How about
> Differentiated Planets, Gaseous Planets, and Frozen Planets to replace the
"inner" and
> "outer" planets? Remember - for minor planets, a comet for all practical
> purposes becomes an asteroid - but it is still a minor planet, under
current use...
> Kids can still memorize the Inner, Gaseous and Pluto (because Pluto is
> sometimes closer than Neptune, a very very important criterion from an
earthly
> viewpoint of numbering successively the billiard balls starting with the
bright
> white cue, and all you have to do is say the first 9 planets out..)
> Saludos, Doug
>
>
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Received on Wed 03 Aug 2005 10:25:49 PM PDT