Pluto, the once and future planet

[Nefaro]

Vid explanation from the discoverers:

[Martok]

Very cool news!  I know there's long been speculation of a large planet -- or possibly even a very dim companion star (commonly dubbed "Nemesis") -- out that way, so it's good that they're finally finding more concrete evidence of this body's existence.  O0 

[Sir Slash]

I CLAIM IT! I CLAIM IT!  Can I do that?  Planet Slash. Very cool.

[Toonces]

Pluto=planet.

[JasonPratt]

Pluto has an atmosphere and blue skies, ergo: planet. :)

[Staggerwing]

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/21/science/space/ninth-planet-solar-system-beyond-pluto.html

Cool. We're up to ten!

Could be hundreds... or even thousands:

It is suspected that another hundred or so known objects in the Solar System are dwarf planets.[12] Estimates are that up to 200 dwarf planets may be found when the entire region known as the Kuiper belt is explored, and that the number may exceed 10,000 when objects scattered outside the Kuiper belt are considered.[13] Individual astronomers recognize several of these,[12] and in August 2011 Mike Brown published a list of 390 candidate objects, ranging from "nearly certain" to "possible" dwarf planets.[11] Brown currently identifies eleven known objects – the five accepted by the IAU plus 2007 OR10, Quaoar, Sedna, Orcus, (307261) 2002 MS4 and Salacia – as "virtually certain", with another dozen highly likely.[12] Stern states that there are more than a dozen known dwarf planets.[13]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwarf_planet

AFA I'm concerned, I'm good with Pluto and Eris, dwarf or otherwise, being planets as long as we include Ceres since we may actually get to that one before we either destroy ourselves or develop trans-stellar travel of some kind.

[Nefaro]

Here's an interesting article about Planetary Migration, which explains the likely cause of such a planet being so far off with an unusual orbit:


The Role of Planetary Migration in the Evolution of the Solar System

http://blog.planethunters.org/2014/05/09/the-role-of-planetary-migration-in-the-evolution-of-the-solar-system/

[Sir Slash]

Wasn't there a prediction by one of the famous Psychics about there being a tenth planet? Maybe Edgar Cayce or somebody more recent? An invisible planet or some such? I can't get my mind to recall where I heard about it.

[Staggerwing]

Wasn't there a prediction by one of the famous Psychics about there being a tenth planet? Maybe Edgar Cayce or somebody more recent? An invisible planet or some such? I can't get my mind to recall where I heard about it.

Many of those pseudoscientific predictions from the 19th and early 20th centuries were about a 'twin earth' orbiting the sun exactly opposite our earth so we could never actually see it. IIRC, the ancient Greeks actually theorized about the possibility first but it fell out of favor after Newton's work was published. It was revived again later on.

[Rekim]

I'd imagine many amateur/professional astronomers will be busy trying to find it. At 4500 times the mass of pluto, it must be observable.

[Bison]

I just want to get this straight.  A known object with an atmosphere and signs of geological activity with several moons is not a planet, but a possible planet X like object is a planet even though it's only theoretical? 

I hope it's out there but not like it's described in Ancient Aliens, because that's bad.

[MikeGER]

I just want to get this straight.  A known object with an atmosphere and signs of geological activity with several moons is not a planet, but a possible planet X like object is a planet even though it's only theoretical? 

I hope it's out there but not like it's described in Ancient Aliens, because that's bad.

a full blown planet has not only the gravitational force to a) force its components into a sphere
but also
b) 'dominates' its orbit around its sun and clears it from other objects  (that was added lately)

if point b) is missing its a dwarf planet  ...so layman still can shorten it up to planet without being totally wrong


its a little bit like sorting firearms into handguns and longguns:.handguns are shot with one or two hands, longarms are pulled against the shoulder
    ...but there are guns out you can shoot for example from the hip or with a pistolgrip only and there are also  (machine)pistols that have a folding stock to be braced against the shoulder ...so does a pumpgun with pistolgrip became a handgun. And does a MP5 with fixed stock become a longgun , and what's with those rare longer barreled ol'westerntimes revolvers who could be attached to a handcrafted stock? on the fly attachable stocks also exist for the Luger08 and the Mauser C96?
so to clear it up the caliber is taken into account too sort them a little more

[Barthheart]

I just want to get this straight.  A known object with an atmosphere and signs of geological activity with several moons is not a planet, but a possible planet X like object is a planet even though it's only theoretical? 

I hope it's out there but not like it's described in Ancient Aliens, because that's bad.

a full blown planet has not only the gravitational force to a) force its components into a sphere
but also
b) 'dominates' its orbit around its sun and clears it from other objects  (that was added lately)

if point b) is missing its a dwarf planet  ...so layman still can shorten it up to planet without being totally wrong


its a little bit like sorting firearms into handguns and longguns:.handguns are shot with one or two hands, longarms are pulled against the shoulder
    ...but there are guns out you can shoot for example from the hip or with a pistolgrip only and there are also  (machine)pistols that have a folding stock to be braced against the shoulder ...so does a pumpgun with pistolgrip became a handgun. And does a MP5 with fixed stock become a longgun , and what's with those rare longer barreled ol'westerntimes revolvers who could be attached to a handcrafted stock? on the fly attachable stocks also exist for the Luger08 and the Mauser C96?
so to clear it up the caliber is taken into account too sort them

Yeah, what he said! Science bitches!  >:D

[Bison]

So Pluto is a planet.  Thanks.

[Barthheart]

Dwarf planet. O0