Scientists Discover Plutos Fifth Moon

[Bara_no_Hime]

But it's so tiny! And the dwarf planet Eris is even larger than Pluto, so you'd have to consider Eris a planet too. Also, the orbit of Pluto is really wonky compared to the other planets.

... I was about to chime in for "Quasi Planet" but the idea of having 10 planets, with one of them named Eris, is too fucking awesome.

So yeah, let's promote em both! We need more female planets anyway (right now Venus is the only one named for a female goddess - Eris would make two... unless you count Gaia (ie Earth as female) I suppose, but that's still 3 to 7).

I also like the idea of considering Pluto and Charon a planet between them (a 'Planet System'). That makes a lot of sense.

 

[McMullen]

Oddly, I've still considered it a normal planet since they decided to change it.

Why? Because you cant just change your mind about shit like this scientists!

Yes, they can and they have. That's the fundamental mechanism behind science. And Pluto wasn't the first object to be "demoted" from a planet to another class of object. The only reason there's all this RAEG about it is that it was the first to have a fanclub, for whatever reason. That it shares a name with a Disney character, that it's among the easiest to remember, and that it was discovered by Americans are the reasons I hear most often.

None of those are good reasons, especially considering how small a part Pluto plays in people's lives. Strangely though, a lot of people don't seem to realize how absurd it looks when they gripe about how unfairly Pluto is being treated. If Pluto could feel mistreated, I guarantee you that our classification of it would be the farthest thing from its mind when considering its misfortunes.

The thing that amazes me is that these are adults saying these things. Adults! I can understand kids talking about it this way, but grown men and women?

 

[Godhead]

There seems to be a lack of xkcd in this thread, allow me to rectify that.

 

[McMullen]

Pluto should totally be a planet! Always has been in my mind. No need to try and change around what most people already believe.

I'm curious how a person using the internet comes to the conclusion that changing what people believe isn't needed. Well, okay, perhaps it's not needed, but considering that we no longer die of smallpox, can travel to the other side of the world in a day, and can communicate nearly instantaneously with multiple people on several continents, I'd say that changing what people believe is at the very least incredibly helpful.

What's so great about a belief? Especially when it's shown to be inconsistent?

 

[Setch Dreskar]

If you want Pluto to be a planet then we need to name the 70 or so other 'planets' that have been found near Pluto, and Pluto is among the smallest of them.

^ That was a very helpful video explaining pretty much everything.

Hopefully more people will watch it, it explains why regardless of what people believe Pluto never should have been a planet in the first place, and that's the benefit of science and furthering our own understanding of our place within the universe.

 

[x EvilErmine x]

If you think Pluto should still be a planet then you unfortunately are wrong. If you want to be right then you will need to time travel back to circa 1930.

Astronomy is one of the most changeable of the sciences. The better our telescopes get then the more we see and the more we have to refine the knowledge we have with the new observations and data that the new instruments provide. This i think is a wonderful thing, however a lot of people are resistant to change. Once they feel that they know something they are reluctant to re-evaluate the conclusion they previously had in light of new evidence.

In short Pluto is not a planet. Why?...Because it doesn't make sence to call it a planet and not the hundreds (probably) of other objects orbiting in the Kuiper (sp?) belt that are either the same size or larger. Also compared to the other 'planets' then it's tiny!

 

[aba1]

Dear people who think that Pluto is a planet: You sound like creationists.

SHIT JUST GOT REAL!!!

 

[Cobalt Lion]

I noticed nobody ever mentioned the bodies that lie outside of Pluto's orbit.

 

[D-Class 198482]

...
[sub]pluto has more than one moon?[/sub]