Should Pluto be a Planet?

[Raxion The Mighty]

If pluto is a planet, then every large asteroid in the belts are also planets. That would mean allot of studying just to remember the planets.

[Uieurnthlaal]

Croatia should have the right to join the EU. They were elected by a democratic and fair election by their own citizens, and after all, all countries should have the right to self determination.

Are you drunk?

No, just on two threads at once. I edited my post to be relevant.

[Shofercia]

I'm making fun of someone who named a planet Makemake. Make make what? Hamburgers? The only reason that I'm suggesting the English name, was because it was the original name. If the original name was Ahi Ahi, I would've gone with that.



^ This is the only reason that I suggested Eater Bunny. If codename was Ahi Ahi, I would've suggested that. Stop assuming, cause when you do, you sound like an ass.

That's because it's not pronounced "Make Make."

That's how I read it, because it was written in English. If it was written in another language, or if pronunciation symbols were used, I would've read it differently. But I'm going to read English as, well, English.

Edit: wrong thread.
No, Pluto should not be a planet.
The name "planet" is just a classification used by scientists, who have decided that planets should be objects that are large enough to clear out their orbit, in addition to being spherical, and is in orbit around the sun. Pluto doesn't fit that classification.
Alternatively, scientists could drop the first requirement, we would have thirteen planets, which scientists have decided would be too inclusive a definition.

I support the EU membership of Pluto over that of Croatia

[Uieurnthlaal]

If pluto is a planet, then every large asteroid in the belts are also planets. That would mean allot of studying just to remember the planets.

Exactly my point.
After all, the definition of "Planet" is completely arbitrary. You could redefine planets to include pluto, but then you would have to deal with four other dwarf planets as well, which would start to stretch the conventional definition of "planet". So, since the IAU has decided to define planets in that way, I will go with them out of convention.

[Pluto Land]

I think Pluto is a planet. Though I've been accused of bias in this.

[Uieurnthlaal]

You're deriding and insulting the name chosen from another culture and suggesting that it be replaced with an English name. Seems kind of ethnocentric to me.

I'm making fun of someone who named a planet Makemake. Make make what? Hamburgers? The only reason that I'm suggesting the English name, was because it was the original name. If the original name was Ahi Ahi, I would've gone with that.

The provisional designation 2005 FY9 was given to Makemake when the discovery was made public. Before that, the discovery team used the codename "Easterbunny" for the object, because of its discovery shortly after Easter.

^ This is the only reason that I suggested Eater Bunny. If codename was Ahi Ahi, I would've suggested that. Stop assuming, cause when you do, you sound like an ass.

The "e" is not silent. Anyway, the name makemake (a name in Rapa Nui) comes from Easter Island mythology, in which Makemake created humanity.

[Cetacea]

You're deriding and insulting the name chosen from another culture and suggesting that it be replaced with an English name. Seems kind of ethnocentric to me.

I'm making fun of someone who named a planet Makemake. Make make what? Hamburgers? .

Nah Olthar is correct with this one, the name is pronounced Ma-ke-ma-ke not Make-make. It is a perfectly normal legitimate name not a in-joke for your amusement

[Omigodtheyplutoedkenny]

It's a planet. If it were located in the inner solar system, as is Mercury (which is not much larger), there would be no question but that it's a planet. The fact that it is instead located in a debris belt shouldn't matter. Sure, it shares that belt with a few other objects that, if you looked at them hard enough, might resemble the nice round objects we know as planets, but the fact of the matter is, none of these other objects have been directly observed, so it's hard to say if they'd even qualify as "dwarf planets" if we could actually see what they look like. Not even Eris, which was at first thought to be larger than Pluto, but which new research shows might actually be smaller.

[Salacious Multitude]

As far as I am concerned Pluto is a planet.

Pluto will always be a planet to those in their early 20s and older.

Except for people who acknowledge scientific truth, of course.

As for scientific definition and truth they are only tools and are only to be applied when necessary and useful. If we explore another star system in the galaxy and find a bunch of planets, dwarf planets and asteroids etc then I nor anyone else will mind the things being precisely and accurately designated according to this system. Because they are something separate and far apart and previously unknown to us. Pluto like the other planets and moons of our star system have recently entered our most peripheral sphere of influence which changes our relation to them. Few important things in humanities sphere of influence can be viewed exclusively through the scientific method.

Changing the popular designation of a thing has no influence on the actual physical properties its possesses.

No, it should be whatever scientists deem proper to categorize it as.

I think the problem people have with Pluto's reclassification as a dwarf planet is that they think of the Planet/Dwarf Planet categories as some sort of ranking system with Planets being some how "superior" to Dwarf Planets. That isn't the case, the whole point of the division is so that the word Planet would have a precise scientific definition.

But it is a ranking system of a kind. When organizations print maps or posters or whatever about our star system including the planets, Pluto will be more likely to be left off. If this was just a map of lumps of rock, ice and gas out there then no one would care, but if that was the case hardly anyone would bother procuring the maps because no one would care. However the planets and moons of our system were given names, significant names which made them matter. Pluto is one of the more significant of these names, the god of the underworld.

If Pluto is no longer designated a planet then when asked how many planets our star system has I will answer eight and Pluto.

[Uieurnthlaal]

I think Pluto is a planet. Though I've been accused of bias in this.

You must be american, then.
Anyway, there is no inherent definition to the word "planet", so I say we just go with the IAU definition and abandon emotional attachments for Pluto in the name of scientific standardization.

[Myouren]

It is a planet. The classification "dwarf planet" is no different from "terrestrial planet" and "jovian planet" as far as being a classification of planet. If you've taken any astronomy in recent years, you know this.

Meanwhile in reality.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwarf_planet

A dwarf planet is a planetary-mass object that is neither a planet nor a satellite

Because Wikipedia is obviously more authoritative than an astronomy professor.

[Tlaceceyaya]

Meanwhile in reality.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwarf_planet

Because Wikipedia is obviously more authoritative than an astronomy professor.

He cited something. His source got its definition from the IAU.
I'd trust the IAU over some random guy.

[Shofercia]

I'm making fun of someone who named a planet Makemake. Make make what? Hamburgers? The only reason that I'm suggesting the English name, was because it was the original name. If the original name was Ahi Ahi, I would've gone with that.



^ This is the only reason that I suggested Eater Bunny. If codename was Ahi Ahi, I would've suggested that. Stop assuming, cause when you do, you sound like an ass.

The "e" is not silent. Anyway, the name makemake (a name in Rapa Nui) comes from Easter Island mythology, in which Makemake created humanity.

So Makemake made made humanity?

I'm making fun of someone who named a planet Makemake. Make make what? Hamburgers? .

Nah Olthar is correct with this one, the name is pronounced Ma-ke-ma-ke not Make-make. It is a perfectly normal legitimate name not a in-joke for your amusement

Once again: the language that we are using here is English. In English, the word "makemake" is usually going to be read as "make-make". If you want it to be read different, you could use pronunciation symbols, like you did in that post, i.e. "Ma-ke-ma-ke", which ensures a different reading. Otherwise, I am going to use English when using English, and I don't see how that's ethnocentric.

[Galborg]

Croatia [...]

Wrong thread, sir. I advise you edit your post.

Croatia is precisely relevant to the Thread as is Pakistan, Bessarabia, Slovakia etc.

Croatia split from Yugoslavia because they wanted to set up a Roman Ctholic state. Pakistan split from India because they wanted to set up an Islamic state. Neil de Grasse Tyson turned IAU into an Islamic state and fatwahs all the planets he don't like.

[Tlaceceyaya]

Wrong thread, sir. I advise you edit your post.

Croatia is precisely relevant to the Thread as is Pakistan, Bessarabia, Slovakia etc.

Croatia split from Yugoslavia because they wanted to set up a Roman Ctholic state. Pakistan split from India because they wanted to set up an Islamic state. Neil de Grasse Tyson turned IAU into an Islamic state and fatwahs all the planets he don't like.

That guy posted in the wrong fucking thread. There's a fucking thread about what he posted about.
Can you please explain why you are so obsessed with accusing Neil deGrasse Tyson of giving legal judgements about islamic law?

[Cetacea]

It's a planet. If it were located in the inner solar system, as is Mercury (which is not much larger), there would be no question but that it's a planet. The fact that it is instead located in a debris belt shouldn't matter. Sure, it shares that belt with a few other objects that, if you looked at them hard enough, might resemble the nice round objects we know as planets, but the fact of the matter is, none of these other objects have been directly observed, so it's hard to say if they'd even qualify as "dwarf planets" if we could actually see what they look like. Not even Eris, which was at first thought to be larger than Pluto, but which new research shows might actually be smaller.

Ceres has been directly observed and was also once a planet.

And Mercury is about twice the size (diameter and density) of Pluto...

[Olthar]

Nah Olthar is correct with this one, the name is pronounced Ma-ke-ma-ke not Make-make. It is a perfectly normal legitimate name not a in-joke for your amusement

Once again: the language that we are using here is English. In English, the word "makemake" is usually going to be read as "make-make". If you want it to be read different, you could use pronunciation symbols, like you did in that post, i.e. "Ma-ke-ma-ke", which ensures a different reading. Otherwise, I am going to use English when using English, and I don't see how that's ethnocentric.

You see a word from a different language from a different culture, and you not only don't even attempt to pronounce it correctly, but you also vigorously defend your mispronunciation? And you're trying to claim that you're not ethnocentric?

[Shofercia]

Wrong thread, sir. I advise you edit your post.

Croatia is precisely relevant to the Thread as is Pakistan, Bessarabia, Slovakia etc.

Croatia split from Yugoslavia because they wanted to set up a Roman Ctholic state. Pakistan split from India because they wanted to set up an Islamic state. Neil de Grasse Tyson turned IAU into an Islamic state and fatwahs all the planets he don't like.

So Niel de Grasse Tyson's like a boss, amirite?

[Uieurnthlaal]

Wrong thread, sir. I advise you edit your post.

Croatia is precisely relevant to the Thread as is Pakistan, Bessarabia, Slovakia etc.

Croatia split from Yugoslavia because they wanted to set up a Roman Ctholic state. Pakistan split from India because they wanted to set up an Islamic state. Neil de Grasse Tyson turned IAU into an Islamic state and fatwahs all the planets he don't like.

The trouble with jokes on the internet is that you can never tell if they're joking.

[Conscentia]

If pluto is a planet, then every large asteroid in the belts are also planets. That would mean allot of studying just to remember the planets.

Exactly my point.
After all, the definition of "Planet" is completely arbitrary. You could redefine planets to include pluto, but then you would have to deal with four other dwarf planets as well, which would start to stretch the conventional definition of "planet". So, since the IAU has decided to define planets in that way, I will go with them out of convention.

If you extended the definition to include Pluto, you wouldn't just add 4 others as well... you'd add several hundred.
Using a Pluto-accepting definition would render the term "planet" unhelpful, and almost meaningless.

[Uieurnthlaal]

Exactly my point.
After all, the definition of "Planet" is completely arbitrary. You could redefine planets to include pluto, but then you would have to deal with four other dwarf planets as well, which would start to stretch the conventional definition of "planet". So, since the IAU has decided to define planets in that way, I will go with them out of convention.

If you extended the definition to include Pluto, you wouldn't just add 4 others as well... you'd add several hundred.
Using a Pluto-accepting definition would render the term "planet" unhelpful, and almost meaningless.

No, you would only add four others, by combining the group of planets and dwarf planets into a full group of planets. So, you'd end up with thirteen planets.

[Shofercia]

Once again: the language that we are using here is English. In English, the word "makemake" is usually going to be read as "make-make". If you want it to be read different, you could use pronunciation symbols, like you did in that post, i.e. "Ma-ke-ma-ke", which ensures a different reading. Otherwise, I am going to use English when using English, and I don't see how that's ethnocentric.

You see a word from a different language from a different culture, and you not only don't even attempt to pronounce it correctly, but you also vigorously defend your mispronunciation? And you're trying to claim that you're not ethnocentric?

Nope, I admitted that the mispronunciation was incorrect, once it was explained to me. But, believe it or not, words that aren't English but written in English might, *gasps in shock and horror* actually be mispronounced! Imagine that! I'm sorry, I thought that was blatantly obvious, but apparently it wasn't.

[Conscentia]

Meanwhile in reality.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwarf_planet

Because Wikipedia is obviously more authoritative than an astronomy professor.

Wikipedia's information, in this example, comes from the IAU - a collection of professional astronomers.

You were saying?

[Uieurnthlaal]

You see a word from a different language from a different culture, and you not only don't even attempt to pronounce it correctly, but you also vigorously defend your mispronunciation? And you're trying to claim that you're not ethnocentric?

Nope, I admitted that the mispronunciation was incorrect, once it was explained to me. But, believe it or not, words that aren't English but written in English might, *gasps in shock and horror* actually be mispronounced! Imagine that! I'm sorry, I thought that was blatantly obvious, but apparently it wasn't.

English has no consistent pronunciation, being an incomprehensible mess of Norse, Old English, and French, with additions from hundreds of other languages. That might be a pain, but as an English speaker, you must learn that spelling only vaguely correlates with pronunciation, and learn the pronunciation of the english language one by one.

[Tlaceceyaya]

If you extended the definition to include Pluto, you wouldn't just add 4 others as well... you'd add several hundred.
Using a Pluto-accepting definition would render the term "planet" unhelpful, and almost meaningless.

No, you would only add four others, by combining the group of planets and dwarf planets into a full group of planets. So, you'd end up with thirteen planets.

And lose a useful classification.