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Is Pluto REALLY a Planet?

#24
08/24/2006: "Despite Planetary Downgrade, Pluto Is Still Disney's 'Dog Star'"

BURBANK, CALIF – In reaction to news today that Pluto was demoted to the status of "dwarf planet," the Seven Dwarfs issued their own short statement:
"Although we think it's DOPEY that Pluto has been downgraded to a dwarf planet, which has made some people GRUMPY and others just SLEEPY, we are not BASHFUL in saying we would be HAPPY if Disney's Pluto would join us as an 8th dwarf. We think this is just what the DOC ordered and is nothing to SNEEZE at."

As Mickey Mouse's faithful companion, Pluto made his debut in 1930 – the same year that scientists discovered what they believed was a ninth planet.

Said a white-gloved, yellow-shoed source close to Disney’s top dog, "I think the whole thing is goofy. Pluto has never been interested in astronomy before, other than maybe an occasional howl at the moon."
 
#28
jrthebassguy said:
It's a big universe out there:

http://www.rense.com/general72/size.htm




That doesn't even include supergiants.
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That's a nice page to get an idea of the magnitude of the differences in size.

One note, a model of Antares is shown in the bottom image and it is a red supergiant. There are larger known supergiants, such as KY Cygni, which has a diameter that is about twice Antares' and about 1500 times that of our sun.
 
#31
Geoff St. Germaine said:
That's a nice page to get an idea of the magnitude of the differences in size.

One note, a model of Antares is shown in the bottom image and it is a red supergiant. There are larger known supergiants, such as KY Cygni, which has a diameter that is about twice Antares' and about 1500 times that of our sun.
Click to expand...


IIRC the biggest is the blue supergiant, which makes Antares look like pluto compared to our sun.


It's really hard to wrap my mind around something that huge. Very interesting though, for sure :)
 
#32
Geoff St. Germaine said:
I think the problem is that a definition that includes pluto will be bound to include an incredible number of objects in our solar system that are similar to pluto (I think 50 or so). I guess they could define it as being "a celestial body that is in orbit around the sun, has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a … nearly round shape, and has cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit, and pluto".
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Thats the part of the definintion that confuses me a little. It has to clear the neighborhood around it. What exactly does that mean? I read something where it crosses Neptunes path or one planets orbital path, is that what they mean? Or do they mean clear the neighborhood around it as in making it void of asteroids, and any cosmic debris thats in its way?
 
#33
cassanova said:
Thats the part of the definintion that confuses me a little. It has to clear the neighborhood around it. What exactly does that mean? I read something where it crosses Neptunes path or one planets orbital path, is that what they mean? Or do they mean clear the neighborhood around it as in making it void of asteroids, and any cosmic debris thats in its way?
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No, I don't think they are referring to the fact that Pluto's orbit crosses Neptune's orbit. It is more what you are referring to in the last bit, which is clearing their area of cosmic debris which would be somewhat related to it's mass.
 
#34
jrthebassguy said:
IIRC the biggest is the blue supergiant, which makes Antares look like pluto compared to our sun.


It's really hard to wrap my mind around something that huge. Very interesting though, for sure :)
Click to expand...

Actually, red supergiants are the largest stars. They can be far larger than blue supergiants. IIRC (reaching back to my stellar astrophysics undergrad thesis), blue supergiants can be as large as about 50 solar radii, whereas red supergiants can be up to 1500 solar radii. The two types of stars can have similar mass though, as a star can switch back and forth between blue supergiant and red supergiant near the end of it's lifetime. Whether it is a blue or red supergiant is determined by the rate of the nuclear reaction in the stellar core. When the reaction rate is higher there is more pressure generated in the stellar core which inflates the star to a red supergiant and conversely when the reaction slows the star contracts to a blue supergiant.
 
#35
jrthebassguy said:
IIRC the biggest is the blue supergiant, which makes Antares look like pluto compared to our sun.


It's really hard to wrap my mind around something that huge. Very interesting though, for sure :)
Click to expand...


Rigel is a blue supergiant, which is tiny in comparison to Antares.

I think the deal with Pluto not clearing its neighborhood is the Kuiper Belt, but I may be wrong.
 
#36
Vorago said:
The defenition now includes: "the ability to clean it's area of space". So, from that perspective, no, because Pluto's mass is not big enough to clean up the thousands of other icy objects circling in that area.
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SAVE PLUTO!!

Send Swiffers, Windex, and Simple Green to the little rock outside (but sometimes inside) Neptune's orbit!
 
#37
dangnewt said:
Geoff and Cassanova,

How about Planet Emeritus? Or take a page from Prince and it can be the "Heavenly Body formerly known as Pluto the Planet"

The US has successfully warded off the metric system, keeping Pluto a planet should be a piece of cake.

Seriously, can they keep working on a definition that includes Pluto and filters out the stuff they don't want.



Kiwi Kid,

Australia is a whole 'nother world - that would make me want to keep Pluto a planet all the more.
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Haha
 

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