Planets and Plutons - IAU Draft Definition

Saw this article on another forum, its by Prof Mike Brown, discoverer of UB313. He estimates that by the new definition there are 53 planets in the solar system currently.

At this rate there'll be more planets than moons! Why not just switch terms in that case . . . a tiny 3-km diameter planet with a giant 88,000km-diameter moon orbiting it (read: barycentre again).

How about adding; " . . . is a planet if . . . c) it orbits within the Edgeworth-Kuiper Belt (as currently defined) and is clearly the primary body in a multiple system" . . . further qualifying this by the Hydrostatic Equilibrium bit, (c) now excludes Charon and UB313 but retains Ceres. It might add Vesta to the mix too (and Pallas? Juno?) though . . . :roll: :roll: :roll: And don't even ask about extra-solar "planets" whatever they'll turn out to be.

John

www.cagle.com/politicalcartoons/pccartoons/archives/turner.asp

From possibly Fridays Irish Times.
nice one

I have just re-named the "Planetary Gears" in my Equatorial mount motor gearbox to "Pluton Gears".
Not big enough to be called "Planetary" you know !
Had to be done !

Pluto is not a planet.

Although I still utterly disagree with the removal of Pluto from the list of 'official' planets this is rather funny...