[meteorite-list] 'Plutons' Push Planet Total Up To 12

[E.P. Grondine]

Hi all - 

Everybody loved Clyde, so they don't want to take the
honor of discovering a planet away from him.  But for
the future, making him the discoverer of the first KBO
would not be that much of a demotion, and might be a
raise - that is the FIRST KBO.

Minor Planets are those located between Mars and
Jupiter at some point in their orbits, plus a few that
are betweeen the Earth and Jupiter.

I hope this clears everything up.

Now while they're all together there, do any of these
guys and gals know where the 64 fragments of
Schwassmann Wachmann 3 are going to be in 2022?

good hunting, 
Ed



--- Larry Lebofsky <lebofsky at lpl.arizona.edu> wrote:

> Hi Chris:
> 
> Since your two posts on this subjsetc, I think some
> of the responders have 
> gotten a little out of hand and think that they know
> more than everyone else.
> 
> 1. This is the second committee to have dealt with
> the issue of determining a 
> definition of a planet.
> 
> 2. A lot of the discussion of the second committee
> was based heavily on what 
> the first committee did.
> 
> 3. A lot of effort was put into the formation of
> this committee to get a 
> crosssection of the community from a variety of
> countries and included a 
> premier science writer and an astronomy historian.
> To some of you listening, do 
> you think that in the two or three milliseconds that
> you thought about what was 
> proposed by this IAU committee that you are better
> qualified to come up with a 
> solution?
> 
> 4. Now that I have vented my splean, I will respond
> to your emails, Chris. 
> 
> 5. Yes, the IAU does have the authority to make such
> decisions! They are the 
> organization recognized by ALL astronomers as the
> organization who can do such 
> things. They OK the names of asteroids and comets
> and are the organization who 
> came up with the 88 constellations that we have
> today. 
> 
> 6. Which brings me back to your second (I think)
> email. First a side note to 
> Ed, I think (am losing track of the emails, I dumped
> enough on Sterling). 
> Granted there are only 7 continents and 7 seas,
> should we limit ourselves to 9 
> US states because that is all you can remember or 9
> countries (I will not go 
> there)? 
> 
> 7. I have spent nearly two decades doing science
> education (3.5 doing science) 
> and one of the most important things that we can
> teach are kids is that science 
> is dynamic and that numbers change. When I grew up
> there were 32 moons in the 
> Solar System and no extra solar planets (and no
> Kuiper Belt Objects). However, 
> I have changes what I teach as we learn more. That
> is the true nature of 
> science. If you were teaching in 1930 would you have
> left the Solar System with 
> 8 planets? or in the early 1700s, kept the Solar
> System at 6 planets? 
> Traditionally, the Earth is the center of the
> universe, why not let well enough 
> alone? Get a little off track, sorry.
> 
> 8. A lot of effort and a lot of thought went into
> this decision both from a 
> SCIENTIFIC (not technical) perspective and from an
> historical perspective. I 
> know all of the people on the first committee and
> many of the people on the 
> second one and I have respect for them and for their
> decision. While this is 
> only a proposal to the IAU General Assembly and may
> change before next week 
> (doubt there will be much of a change), I think that
> you are doing a disservice 
> to your students by telling them that there are only
> nine planets (it is all 
> over the news, how can they miss it).
> 
> Chris, if you want to continue this discussion
> offline, please feel free to 
> contact me.
> 
> Larry
> 
> 
> -- 
> Dr. Larry A. Lebofsky
> Senior Research Scientist
> Co-editor, Meteorite                      "If you
> give a man a fish,   
> Lunar and Planetary Laboratory               you
> feed him for a day.
> 1541 East University                       If you
> teach a man to fish,
> University of Arizona                        you
> feed him for a lifetime."
> Tucson, AZ 85721-0063                               
>      ~Chinese Proverb
> Phone:  520-621-6947
> FAX:    520-621-8364
> e-mail: lebofsky at lpl.arizona.edu
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