Pluto - No longer a planet

payrol

Now its official, after endless debate, akhirnya malam tadi Pluto disahkan bukan salah satu planet di solar system kita. Nampak gayanye buku2 teks kat sekolah rendah, encyclopedia  tuh perlu diubah and kena la ingat, pluto bukan planet terkecil lagi di solar sytem kita.

PRAGUE, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- The resolution of a planet definition, the first of its kind in the astronomical history, was adopted here Thursday after days of fierce debate and effectively kicked Pluto out of the planet group in the solar system.

    According to the new rules for a planet adopted at an International Astronomical Union meeting in Prague, Pluto doesn't make the grade for a planet: "a celestial body that is in orbit around the sun, has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a ... nearly round shape, and has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit."

    Pluto is automatically disqualified because its oblong orbit overlaps with Neptune's. Instead, it was defined as a "dwarf planet", but no longer a planet.

    Ron Eckers, President of the IAU, which is the world's largest astronomical society, said it may not matter that much how many planets are there in the solar system.

    "What really matters is that we have a definition of planet, and with that, we can move on with our studies," he told Xinhua.

    The definition, which Ecker described as "carefully refined" with much compromise after considerable discussion, came in line with the contemporary observation that has been changing the understanding of planetary system.

    According to the resolution, Pluto, Charon, Ceres and 2003 UB313 are termed "dwarf planets," despite having enough mass and being nearly round.

    Still, Ecker, who is strongly in favor of naming the eight planets found before 1900 "classical planets", and including "dwarf planet" into category of "planet", call the result "a pity."

    If a larger category of "planet" is created, we can leave open the possibility to discover and define other types of planets, he said.

    Fang Cheng, an astronomer with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, also vice chairman of the IAU, told Xinhua that the definition is "clear and compact." Enditem


ni ialah solar system kita skrng..8 planet je..

dexa

just terima email dari kawan tentang ini --
here it is :


Pluto gets the boot
Pluto no longer a planet, say astronomers
Thursday, August 24, 2006;

PRAGUE, Czech Republic (AP) -- Leading astronomers
declared Thursday that Pluto is no longer a planet
under historic new guidelines that downsize the solar
system from nine planets to eight.

After a tumultuous week of clashing over the essence
of the cosmos, the International Astronomical Union
stripped Pluto of the planetary status it has held
since its discovery in 1930. The new definition of
what is -- and isn't -- a planet fills a centuries-old
black hole for scientists who have labored since
Copernicus without one.

Although astronomers applauded after the vote, Jocelyn
Bell Burnell -- a specialist in neutron stars from
Northern Ireland who oversaw the proceedings -- urged
those who might be "quite disappointed" to look on the
bright side.

"It could be argued that we are creating an umbrella
called 'planet' under which the dwarf planets exist,"
she said, drawing laughter by waving a stuffed Pluto
of Walt Disney fame beneath a real umbrella.

The decision by the prestigious international group
spells out the basic tests that celestial objects will
have to meet before they can be considered for
admission to the elite cosmic club.

For now, membership will be restricted to the eight
"classical" planets in the solar system: Mercury,
Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and
Neptune.

Much-maligned Pluto doesn't make the grade under the
new rules for a planet: "a celestial body that is in
orbit around the sun, has sufficient mass for its
self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it
assumes a ... nearly round shape, and has cleared the
neighborhood around its orbit."

Pluto is automatically disqualified because its oblong
orbit overlaps with Neptune's.

Instead, it will be reclassified in a new category of
"dwarf planets," similar to what long have been termed
"minor planets." The definition also lays out a third
class of lesser objects that orbit the sun -- "small
solar system bodies," a term that will apply to
numerous asteroids, comets and other natural
satellites.

It was unclear how Pluto's demotion might affect the
mission of NASA's New Horizons spacecraft, which
earlier this year began a 91/2-year journey to the
oddball object to unearth more of its secrets.

The decision at a conference of 2,500 astronomers from
75 countries was a dramatic shift from just a week
ago, when the group's leaders floated a proposal that
would have reaffirmed Pluto's planetary status and
made planets of its largest moon and two other
objects.

That plan proved highly unpopular, splitting
astronomers into factions and triggering days of
sometimes combative debate that led to Pluto's
undoing.

Now, two of the objects that at one point were
cruising toward possible full-fledged planethood will
join Pluto as dwarfs: the asteroid Ceres, which was a
planet in the 1800s before it got demoted, and 2003
UB313, an icy object slightly larger than Pluto whose
discoverer, Michael Brown of the California Institute
of Technology, has nicknamed "Xena."

Charon, the largest of Pluto's three moons, is no
longer under consideration for any special
designation.

Brown was pleased by the decision. He had argued that
Pluto and similar bodies didn't deserve planet status,
saying that would "take the magic out of the solar
system."

"UB313 is the largest dwarf planet. That's kind of
cool," he said.

zacharygibson

Wow....!! Looks like i have to reprogram my brain... :lol

laislabonita

cikgu2 sekolah kena ubah balik fakta yg diajar di sekolah, huhu...

err.. kat sekolah dulu, benda planet2 ni belajar masa form 3 subjek Sains, topik last sekali... masa time aku belajar la... tak sure skrg kut2 ada adjust skit silibus...

aYuGiLeR

In this image provided by NASA February 22, 2006 from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope shows two new moons around Pluto. Leading astronomers yesterday stripped Pluto of the planetary status it has held since its discovery in 1930. Pluto is in the center and Charon, the largest of Pluto's three moons, is just below it. Charon is no longer under consideration for any special designation.
LEADING astronomers declared yesterday that Pluto is no longer a planet under historic new guidelines that downsize the solar system from nine planets to eight.

After a tumultuous week of clashing over the essence of the cosmos, the International Astronomical Union stripped Pluto of the planetary status it has held since its discovery in 1930. The new definition of what is - and isn't - a planet fills a centuries-old black hole for scientists who have labored since Copernicus without one.

Although astronomers applauded after the vote, Jocelyn Bell Burnell - a specialist in neutron stars from Northern Ireland who oversaw the proceedings in Prague, Czech Republic - urged those who might be "quite disappointed" to look on the bright side.

"It could be argued that we are creating an umbrella called 'planet' under which the dwarf planets exist," she said, drawing laughter by waving a stuffed Pluto of Walt Disney fame beneath a real umbrella.

"Many more Plutos wait to be discovered," added Richard Binzel, a professor of planetary science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The decision by the prestigious international group spells out the basic tests that celestial objects will have to meet before they can be considered for admission to the elite cosmic club.

For now, membership will be restricted to the eight "classical" planets in the solar system: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

Much-maligned Pluto doesn't make the grade under the new rules for a planet: "a celestial body that is in orbit around the sun, has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a ... nearly round shape, and has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit."

Pluto is automatically disqualified because its oblong orbit overlaps with Neptune's.

Just a dwarf

Instead, it will be reclassified in a new category of "dwarf planets," similar to what long have been termed "minor planets." The definition also lays out a third class of lesser objects that orbit the sun - "small solar system bodies," a term that will apply to numerous asteroids, comets and other natural satellites.

Experts said there could be dozens of dwarf planets catalogued across the solar system in the next few years.

It was unclear how Pluto's demotion might affect the mission of NASA's New Horizons spacecraft, which earlier this year began a 9-year journey to the oddball object to unearth more of its secrets.

The decision at a conference of 2,500 astronomers from 75 countries was a dramatic shift from just a week ago, when the group's leaders floated a proposal that would have reaffirmed Pluto's planetary status and made planets of its largest moon and two other objects.

That plan proved highly unpopular, splitting astronomers into factions and triggering days of sometimes combative debate that led to Pluto's undoing. In the end, only about 300 astronomers cast ballots.

hmmmm...  skang cuma ada 8 planet jer dalam sistem solar..

any comment??

bunga_sakura

erm... yg planet nibiru tu pe citer lak ek? memang ada ke?

alhaadi2

satu lagi, Sedna...

mail golok

off topic sikit

apa beza astronomi dgn astrophysics?
tq

ami_kidz125

abis camne plak pasal planet baru yg dorang jumpa apa nama tuh, ha xena apahal plak?

Halilintar

What will happen to Charon? rasa macam nostalgia plak kat pluto nanti.

ruffly_sya

ala...pluto lah plg senang nak ingat...

PengKid

oh pluto ku... sob sob

aku_EnSeM

panjang sangat... :gila:

ruffly_sya

tak baca la tu...:lol

aphrodisiac

Originally posted by mail golok at 27-8-2006 01:24 PM
off topic sikit

apa beza astronomi dgn astrophysics?
tq

senang cerita astrophysics ni subset kepada astronomy..astronomy ni luas definisinya, astrophysics pulak cabang astronomy yg mengkaji ttg angkasa secara teori fizik...astrophysics ni complicated pengiraannya..pening kalo tgk..astronomy lebih general dan lebih 'approachable' kepada layman & org2 biasa yg kurang pengetahuan fizik..

popkorniSh

yea how bout xena tuh??

mail golok

Originally posted by aphrodisiac at 28-8-2006 06:16 PM



senang cerita astrophysics ni subset kepada astronomy..astronomy ni luas definisinya, astrophysics pulak cabang astronomy yg mengkaji ttg angkasa secara teori fizik...astrophysics ni complica ...

Ooooo..wokey
tq.

alphawolf

Kesian Pluto...dah la diberi nama dewa penguasa underworld...dia pun dah diunderworldkan...hehehe

Mmg kena reprogram balik la....ada 8 aje planet!

estrellas

sedihnye..pluto dah digugurkan dari planet list...

spitfire007

atte, wehh!!!

mmg kesian si pluto ni, jadi warga terpinggir planet2 dlm sistem solar kita...

yg teman paling ingat ttg pluto ni adalah nama tu juga nama gelaran kpd penolong kanan sekolah teman dulu, ckgu adnan ibrahim. last sekali sebelum dia pencen, dia menjawat jawatan pengarah pelajaran negeri perak