Bits from Bill

Technology thoughts leaking from the brain of "Bill Pytlovany"

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Pluto No Longer a Planet

It’s not always easy growing old and dealing with change.  The truth comes out slowly with things like… “Don’t put butter on burns”, “Its no longer a sin to eat meat on Fridays”, and your mother lied when she told you to wait a half hour after eating before you could go back in the pool.

It’s easy to accept new discoveries but when “they” just change their mind it’s annoying.  Yesterday, the International Astronomical Union decided that Pluto was no longer a planet.  Apparently, coming up with a definition for a planet has been as vague as defining the term Spyware.
The new definition says.

"a celestial body that (a) is in orbit around the Sun, (b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape, and (c) has cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit.”

Pluto overlaps Neptune’s path with its oblong orbit. As such, it has been disqualified.
neptune and plutos orbit

It will take me a while to digest this but as long as the Walt Disney company doesn’t over react, I think I can handle it.  Originally named “Rover” before the popularity of Planet X, Mickey’s dog turned 77 this year.

 

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