Pluto has been officially demoted

[Sejon]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5282440.stm

A "dwarf planet", though? I thought "Trans-Neptunian Object" had a nice ring to it...

But if Pluto and Charon are now categorized as dwarf planets, I contend that the Earth and Moon "primary and satellite system" now be considered a "binary planet system".

So...any suggestions for the new mnemonic?

My Very Eccentric Mother Just Sauntered Uptown Naked?

[Kire]

Re: Pluto has been officially demoted

Everything they taught me as a child is a lie!!!

[jvrlopez]

Re: Pluto has been officially demoted

Poor Pluto.

[Magus]

Re: Pluto has been officially demoted

The Solar System will never be the same.

*casts Super Nova*

[Denmo]

Re: Pluto has been officially demoted

They may as well force children to learn the names of asteroids larger than Pluto.

[OmegaD3k]

Re: Pluto has been officially demoted

If Pluto is a "dwarf" does that mean Jupiter is a "giant"? Thus, logically, Jupiter is not a planet.

I don't care what those scientists say. I'm still keeping Pluto as our #9.
Hell, even those ancient Pyramids in Teotihuacan have Pluto listed as a planet (if it were true that all pyramids were in fact once a perfect scale model of our solar system, which looks like they are)!

Planet:

it must be in orbit around the Sun

What about planets which leave their former orbit and drift off into space?
So they suddenly no longer become planets?! WTF.

[Shard]

Re: Pluto has been officially demoted

It'll be the same as it was pre-1930s.


Mora Vows Every Male Japanese Shall Undertake Ninjitsu

[Funk]

Re: Pluto has been officially demoted

Mora Vows Every Male Japanese Shall Undertake Ninjitsu

QUICK! Let us get to the history books before another mneumonic devise is used instead!

[John Mora]

Re: Pluto has been officially demoted

Jupiter is a giant. A gas giant.

[Kefka Jr.]

Re: Pluto has been officially demoted

lol, "gas"

[Funk]

Re: Pluto has been officially demoted

And on the first day, God farted and Jupiter was born into existence.

[hitogoroshi]

Re: Pluto has been officially demoted

Pretty selfish of us to say that if a planet doesn't look like ours, it's not a planet.

DAMN POMPOUS AMERICANS!

[Sejon]

Re: Pluto has been officially demoted

Jupiter and Saturn are called gas giants, and yet most of their compositions are in liquid form.

[Fushigi na Renamon]

Re: Pluto has been officially demoted

I heard that on the radio this morning and did a double take. I didn't know planets could get demoted.

Poor Pluto. The solar system just won't be the same now.

>.> Does this mean Sailor Pluto is out of a job? "Hey, you're not a planet anymore! Take a hike!"

[IRC]

Re: Pluto has been officially demoted

People this was on the Colbert Report last week. They've been having this debate for years now. The problem isn't what Pluto is but what Pluto isn't. Because if Pluto is a planet, which I will always consider it being, then there are other objects outside of Pluto that must also then be called planets. It's the definition of planet that scientists can't agree on.