What did Pluto ever do to us?

First we unceremoniously take away Pluto's planet status, and now we are in the neighborhood and we just fly right past without even stopping. Jeez.

and what have we learned … is it a planet ? or is it just a reasonable good sized rock with a smaller rock orbiting around it 3 2/3 billion miles from the sun ?

They have already decided it's not a full planet (dwarf planet like Ceres).

The main reason why it was demoted was because they started discovering other large objects on the edges of the solar system (one larger then Pluto).

Pluto has a pretty wack orbit anyway:

This is Ceres (in the asteroid belt) BTW:

damn that neil degrasse tyson. pluto will always be a planet to me.

Honestly, I've had quite enough of the Bruce Jenner freakshow. Do we really need to start with trans-Neptunian objects???!!!

If it's large enough that its own gravity makes it spherical, and its primary orbit is around a sun rather than another planet, it's a planet. I don't care what they say.

I'm I the only one who doesn't care what they call Pluto.

Duke wrote: If it's large enough that its own gravity makes it spherical, and its primary orbit is around a sun rather than another planet, **it's a planet.** I don't care what they say.

But where does this PC (planet characterization) trend stop!?!? At what point do you STOP calling something a planet? It's a slippery slope I tell you! Today, Pluto is a planet tomorrow Ceres and all the TNOs!!!! What's next, all the asteroid belt!! If we shoot a certain states Governor (he is quite spherical) into space and into a solar orbit, is HE a planet! It has to stop!

You may support traditional Planets, but it's a new world baby, get used to it!!

...wait... what where we discussing?

I think the larger point is: What the heck is Goofy?

In reply to Apis_Mellifera:

Mickey Mouse stood before the judge waiting for the verdict on his divorce case. "Mickey Mouse, I cannot grant you a divorce. Although you claim she is crazy, the court has found Minnie Mouse to be mentally competent," proclaimed the judge. "But your Honor," he said, "I didn't say Minnie was crazy. I said she was berkeleying Goofy!"

/thread jack

/end thread

In reply to pinchvalve:

Pluto raped your mother and killed your dog

yamaha wrote: In reply to pinchvalve: Pluto raped your mother and killed your dog

Amateur, watch this…

I'm not comfortable with the term "dwarf planet". Let's call is a "little planet" instead.

DaveEstey wrote:

Real slow!?!?

It's travelling 30,800 mph !!!! I think it may be the fasted man made object, ever!!!

Is it unreasonable to expect a higher level of scientific accuracy from internet memes...

It's all relative to something that sees comets and meteors regularly.

How awesome is this? Just think about it.

Taken at a distance of 7750 miles by a spacecraft moving at 31,000 miles per hour, then broadcast a third of a billion miles back to us using a power source that generates 202 watts of power. It's so far away that it takes 4.5 hours for the radio waves to reach us. That's one high quality picture and some high quality driving.

They said it will take about 16 months to transmit all the data it's collecting!!!!!

aircooled wrote: They said it will take about 16 months to transmit all the data it's collecting!!!!!

Sure, it's got a 1Kbps data connection. That's about half the speed of the first dialup modem I bought in 1988 (2400 baud).

Aside from the fact that it's 4.5 light-hours away and transmitting with very low power, it's a 15-year-old probe (that's how long it took to build and launch it, and for it to get there) and space hardware is never launched with cutting edge hardware (much better to use "tried and true" old stuff). Then there's the radiation hardening that it needs... :)

DaveEstey wrote: It's all relative to something that sees comets and meteors regularly.

Still calling B.S.

Pluto's orbital velocity is around 13,000 mph. Anything orbiting in that area will be a similar velocity. A comet in a highly elliptical orbit (so that it will get close to the sun and thus travel the fastest) would be moving VERY slow near Pluto since that would have to be very near its apoapsis.

E.g. Halley's comet has an apoapsis of 35 AU, while Pluto's varies from around 30 to 49 AU. When Halley's comet passed Earth it's going around 157,000 mph and will almost come to a stop at apoapsis (someone more skilled at orbital math would have to step in here) since it is a very elliptical orbit.

Orbital mechanics simply say no. New Horizons of course is not in an orbit, it is well above solar escape velocity (especially at that distance).

and no, I am not a rocket scientist, I have just played a bit of Kerbal Space Program. You learn a lot about orbital mechanics.... or you die....

In reply to aircooled:

True, but that's based on objects in orbit within our own solar system.

You guys are pushing the boundaries of pedantry due to a joke.

Keith Tanner wrote: broadcast a third of a million miles back to us

You need to add several zero’s there buddy…I’ve taken a rotary engine almost that far without requiring a rebuild.