Pluto??

or as im thinking the yanks are behind it

Couldnt be the Yanks. Bush still thinks Pluto is the name of a dog from a Disney cartoon.

:lol: :lol:

Ye your right at the end of the day hes the one who was at a stevie wonder concert and was waving up at him!!!!!!

The IAU put a hundred (or so) respectable physicists into a room and asked them to come up with a definition for just one word... Planet. Not only did they fail miserably, but it nearly turned into a bloodbath! Opinions were strong... and no consensus was reached so they wussed out with a short term compromise until the next meeting of the IAU.

Phil.

Its like this, Pluto was the only planet discovered by someone in the US, some would do anything to keep it that way.
As usual it was a "U.S." vs "the rest of the world" affair.

Talking about the definition of a planet..........................

What is the definition of a moon?

I'm guessing there is something in it about it being a smaller body that orbits a larger body due to gravitatio......................but wouldnt that make all planets moons of the sun?


Also how can the solid planets in the solar system be in the same class as the gas planets?

How can you call big balls of gas (Jupiter etc)..............planets.............and in the same breath call small rocky objects (earth etc)..............planets.

I guess it boils down to "different class" of planets. Kinda like there are different types of mammals..................but they are all mammals.

OK i think i just answered my own question.

I still dont think Pluto should have been downclassed.

BTW~~~~what is it now classified as?

If you want an easy introduction to astronomy and astrophysics (and a good read!) then you could do worse than pick up a copy of "Universe" by Gerald? Kaufmann. It's excellent, and covers everything from the big bang to the formation of stars, galaxies, planets, etc., and understanding and interpreting astrophysical data from the latest probes and telescopes. And it comes with a student version of the Starry Night planetarium/star charting package.

Phil.

PS - Universe is available in Hodges Figgis and Waterstones on Dawson St. in Dublin.

I was given a present of a book this christmas called Astronomy~by Ian Ridpath.

I havent read it all yet but from what i see so far it goes into great detail about the big bang and astrophysics.