View Full Version : Our Solar System
Tovor
08-24-2006, 12:02 PM
Well it's official. Pluto is no longer a planet. :(
It's a sad day at Disneyworld.
Master Magnus
08-24-2006, 03:00 PM
It's sad but at the same time its understandable. Pluto's orbit is quite different from those of the other planets in the Solar system (it's highly eccentrical and inclined), it's very tiny and has very little mass. There could be hundreds of similiar bodies in the Kuiper belt and it would've been untenable and would've also have deflated the planetary status.
However, why not keep Pluto's status out of tradition and as a representative of all the large Kuiper belt objects.
I also wonder how this will hold up as we find more and more planets outside of our Solar system.
JediBendu
08-25-2006, 05:19 AM
this is just getting weird :p
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/5283956.stm
Pluto Highjacked by Revolt
A fierce backlash has begun against the decision by astronomers to strip Pluto of its status as a planet.
On Thursday, experts approved a definition of a planet that demoted Pluto to a lesser category of object.
But the lead scientist on Nasa's robotic mission to Pluto has lambasted the ruling, calling it "embarrassing". And the chair of the committee set up to oversee agreement on a definition implied that the vote had effectively been "hijacked".
cj790
08-25-2006, 06:03 AM
^ It does seem pathetic that the only able voters had to be in Prague at the time - not really a very democratic method of measuring consensus.
I am disappointed by this decision; as I stated earlier, I think the 'Pluton' category would have been a much more favourable re-defining. Humph. Sign me up to any and all internet petitions to re-classify Pluto...
Master Magnus
08-25-2006, 01:40 PM
this is just getting weird :p
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/5283956.stm
Pluto Highjacked by Revolt
A fierce backlash has begun against the decision by astronomers to strip Pluto of its status as a planet.
On Thursday, experts approved a definition of a planet that demoted Pluto to a lesser category of object.
But the lead scientist on Nasa's robotic mission to Pluto has lambasted the ruling, calling it "embarrassing". And the chair of the committee set up to oversee agreement on a definition implied that the vote had effectively been "hijacked".
Weird... A Swedish paper wrote: "It's 'Star Wars' over Pluto decision".
Zedekk
08-25-2006, 02:55 PM
Well it's official. Pluto is no longer a planet. :(
NNOOOOOOOOoooooooo....*! :vader:
Darth Star
08-25-2006, 05:33 PM
I can't believe that I feel this dissapointed for a space object.
Master Magnus
08-25-2006, 05:42 PM
I heard on the Swedish television news that Pluto will continue to be classified as a planet in the United States. I haven't seen that confirmed anywhere else though.
RedMirax
08-25-2006, 05:55 PM
They'll change their minds in another 70 years... lol
Jay-Ton-Wan
08-25-2006, 07:36 PM
I hate what these poeple are trying to do. They should...
1: Keep pluto and it's moon the way they are.
2: go ahead and add the other two.
DarthSolo
08-26-2006, 03:34 PM
It's sad but at the same time its understandable. Pluto's orbit is quite different from those of the other planets in the Solar system (it's highly eccentrical and inclined), it's very tiny and has very little mass. There could be hundreds of similiar bodies in the Kuiper belt and it would've been untenable and would've also have deflated the planetary status.
However, why not keep Pluto's status out of tradition and as a representative of all the large Kuiper belt objects.
I also wonder how this will hold up as we find more and more planets outside of our Solar system.
Yeah, I agree with this. I mean, it's cool to have one more planet, but it's logical that Pluto is only a dwarf. And it's really not a big deal. The fact that people are complaining that the vote was "highjacked" is, well, funny to me.
JediKeri
08-26-2006, 04:07 PM
In my mind...Pluto will always be a planet. I don't agree with the science mumbo jumbo on this one...(acually I never understood it when I read their website) *shrugs*
Darth Darthy
08-26-2006, 07:25 PM
Oh well, bye Pluto! The big question here is; where does this leave uranus? Hahahaahaa. Had to throw a your-anus joke in there.
Zedekk
08-27-2006, 03:32 AM
^Same place he's been the past few years now, the White House.
cj790
08-27-2006, 03:24 PM
^ Rofl
So anyone spotted any online petitions yet?
Sargoth
08-28-2006, 01:01 AM
Oh well, bye Pluto! The big question here is; where does this leave uranus? Hahahaahaa. Had to throw a your-anus joke in there.
Obligatory Futurama quote:
Professor: "I'm sorry, Fry, but astronomers renamed Uranus in 2620 to end that stupid joke once and for all."
Fry: "Oh. What's it called now?"
Professor: "Urectum. Here, let me locate it for you."
Jay-Ton-Wan
08-29-2006, 10:32 PM
^THats so funny I forgot to laugh...oh wait....LOLLOLLOLLOLLOLLOLLOLLOLLOLLOLLOLLOLLOLLOL LOLLOLLOLLOLLOLLOLLOLLOLLOLLOLLOLLOLLOLLOLLOLLOLLO LLOLLOLLOLLOLLOLLOL
Miasmo
11-03-2006, 12:10 PM
Sun probe sends back first data.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6113902.stm
Darth Graves
11-05-2006, 10:13 AM
regardless of wether pluto is a planet or not anymore.... race ya to it =P
Miasmo
12-06-2006, 09:42 PM
Water likely flows on Mars
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061207/ap_on_sc/mars_water
huttslime
12-06-2006, 09:51 PM
^ did you know that there is a Google Mars? mars.google.com (just like google maps, but mars.)
Is there an astronomy thread?
Miasmo
12-06-2006, 10:23 PM
I'm not sure. I looked for a space thread and found this one. Can't seem to find anything broader.
I don't see why you can't talk about the galaxy and/or universe as well :P
And I thought that water flowed on Mars millions of years ago, but doesn't anymore. Unless it's underground or something...
Miasmo
12-07-2006, 12:56 AM
There seems to have been a lot of speculation. No hard facts. And this new development suggests that it could be actively flowing right now. But it too is speculation. There are still naysayers out there.
And they suggest something like geysers as the water source, since Mars' atmosphere and temperature would turn water quickly into either ice or gas.
huttslime
12-07-2006, 01:29 AM
I don't see why you can't talk about the galaxy and/or universe as well :P
Has anyone heard of NGC 2392 (Eskimo Nebula)?
http://www.esa.int/images/hst_6_p,0.jpg
cj790
12-07-2006, 07:18 PM
What a week!
Announcements that water possibly flowed on Mars in the last few years, a permanent base planned for the moon (with the intention of it being a pit-stop for future missions to Mars) and a possible shuttle launch to continue building the ISS for Friday!
Hurrah! :nahnah:
Miasmo
12-07-2006, 07:48 PM
You think maybe all these announcements clustered together is being done to help get more funding? There was also some other story about a planet being swallowed into a black hole 4 billion light years away. They'd been watching it for 2 years or something.
cj790
12-07-2006, 07:50 PM
I don't know, but whatever the reasons I hope they get more :D
Has anyone heard of NGC 2392 (Eskimo Nebula)?
Yes :) Is there something about it that we should know?
huttslime
12-07-2006, 09:33 PM
No.
huttslime
12-07-2006, 09:34 PM
But I was wondering where you can find it in the sky, and what you need to see it.
Miasmo
12-07-2006, 10:23 PM
I don't know what you need to see it, but I think you have to be in the northern hemisphere.
huttslime
12-07-2006, 10:25 PM
Do you know the constellation it is in?
If you manage to see it, it isn't going to look like that! :P
Looks like it's in Gemini. You know you can find out a lot of these types of questions on Google.
huttslime
12-07-2006, 11:43 PM
I was too bored to do that....
But you will be able to see the planetary nebula right? bigger than a normal star?
Luvinna
12-09-2006, 12:05 PM
Speaking of Gemini, the Geminid meteor shower is next week:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16110109
And a once-in-a-lifetime planetary event this weekend:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16112755
huttslime
12-09-2006, 12:08 PM
I think I want to look at that planetary thing.
Zedekk
05-02-2007, 07:32 PM
Jupiter has rings!!! wtf?:blink: who knew?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18420570?GT1=9951
cj790
05-02-2007, 07:53 PM
^ Yeah, it's been known for years. Uranus and Neptune have some too.
Cool pics of a volcanic eruption on Io though.
Cassus Fett
03-16-2008, 01:48 PM
What do you all think on the though of colonisation and teraforming of the Moon, Mars, Venus, etc. In the distant future?
Lord Tesla
03-16-2008, 04:57 PM
What do you all think on the though of colonisation and teraforming of the Moon, Mars, Venus, etc. In the distant future?
Colonization, at least of the Moon and Mars, is doable. Venus, I think, not. For the same reason I think not the solid bodies of the outer solar system, i.e., the Jovian and Saturnian moons: radiation. Way too much of it. Not to mention lead-melting heat at Venus.
The Moon gets blasted, too, but for a colony-sized settlement, countermeasures should be possible. It's also a mineral treasure-trove, and while there may be no atmosphere to speak of, you can get all the oxygen you need from processing the lunar regolith. And that solar radiation has an upside, energy to power such things as ore-processing and atmosphere generation. It also has the virtue of being only three days away by proven transportation techniques.
True, Mars also gets blasted. But shielding should work there, too. And there's ample draw there, as well, scientific, touristic, and as a backup in case the earth goes pear-shaped on us. It's still relatively close, too.
Terra-forming, I doubt. It's a difficult, expensive, time-consuming project, with no certainty of outcome. Time is the worst factor of all: it would take many lifetimes to accomplish. Humanity so far has demonstrated no signs of the patience necessary to administer a project of that magnitude over such a scale of time. The colonists who were already there would also tend to object at the outset, because it would be a messy, destructive process. Bombing the place with comets, bearing who knows what from the outer solar system, introducing engineered life from earth to do the things that bacteria and plants do to enhance an environment--they'd tend to spoil your view, tear up your house, and maybe threaten your greenhouse crops.
Jedi Master Harrison
03-16-2008, 06:50 PM
My gut feeling is that it will never happen. No logic behind it, just a feeling. I think something like that does need to happen though. Can't see it in my life time.
Sargoth
03-18-2008, 01:20 AM
That question is entirely dependent on the answer to another question:
Is there any money to be made off of it? And I'm not talking about tourism.
The first "galactic entrepreneurs" will be in a similar line of work to the early settlers of the American West: Mining.
Astronomers have good evidence that there are virtually limitless supplies of raw ore (iron, for one) embedded in asteroids that are relatively close to the earth. A single iron asteroid could contain more raw iron than we mine from the entire earth in a year. Needless to say, the logistics of gathering and transporting such huge quantities of metal are mind blowing. The first extrasolar colonies will likely be support stations or waypoints for asteroid miners.
Miasmo
03-18-2008, 03:57 PM
"Mama, I wanna be an astro-miner when I grow up!"
"Astronomer, honey. It's pronounced astronomer."
cj790
03-18-2008, 08:52 PM
^ Lol!
I agree with the other opinions here. Mankind will only really start to explore the solar system (let alone colonise) when it becomes: a.) financially viable to do so, or b.) a neccessity.
Neither are currently the situation.
I seriously doubt our generation will see colonisation of other worlds, although I wouldn't rule out a possible lunar scientific outpost, a la Antartica.
I'm still hopeful for witnessing the first man on Mars too.
Lord Tesla
03-19-2008, 03:07 AM
^ Lol!
I agree with the other opinions here. Mankind will only really start to explore the solar system (let alone colonise) when it becomes: a.) financially viable to do so, or b.) a neccessity.
Neither are currently the situation.
The moon is only three days away. It can be reached with technology from the middle of the last century. As Tom Hanks said in Apollo 13, "It's not a miracle. We just decided to go." (Not sure Jim Lovell ever really said it; but it doesn't matter, it's true.)
The solar system is full of debris left over the creation, and that stuff tends to hit the earth every now and then, catastrophically. The next round of bombardment will not wait for us, or give us adequate warning to prepare. We can't defeat it or repel it from the surface of the earth.
The moon is our beachhead in cosmic space; it is where the counter-attack must begin. Necessity is upon us. The time is now.
Sargoth
03-19-2008, 05:25 AM
It's not the asteroids that scare me. It's those frikkin' gamma ray bursts. One of those could *really* ruin my day.
Zedekk
03-28-2008, 04:36 AM
^okay there "Incredible Hulk"
After reading your posts, I just thought I lived to see the day when there will be settlements on moon. (if there will be any.) Think about it. Wouldn't it be nice to look up at the moon one night and see distant lights of the settlements on it?
Actually we wouldn't be able to see it because sunlight reflected from the moon surface would be much stronger, but still I like the idea.
Sargoth
06-20-2008, 03:02 PM
Phoenix discovers ice on Mars!! (http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/space/06/20/phoenix.mars.ap/index.html?eref=rss_topstories) We just need to send over some rum and daiquiri mix. It's' time to par-tay! :wtg:
Lord Tesla
06-20-2008, 05:15 PM
Phoenix discovers ice on Mars!! (http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/space/06/20/phoenix.mars.ap/index.html?eref=rss_topstories) We just need to send over some rum and daiquiri mix. It's' time to par-tay! :wtg:
It's not salt, and probably is ice, but is it water ice? Hasn't the other sort been known to be on Mars at the poles for some time, and aren't the soil experiments so far negative for the presence of water?
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