[meteorite-list] Solar System in Perspective

Larry Lebofsky lebofsky at lpl.arizona.edu
Fri Aug 18 16:51:54 EDT 2006


I think EL 61 rotates fairly rapidly and it is thought that this shape was 
frozen in when it was formed. This is where the actual defining of a planet 
gets a little fuzzy and where I start having problems with, if not the 
definition, how do you determine what is and what is not a planet.

The definition is not perfect, but this and how it is implemented are things 
that can be worked out.

Larry

Quoting Darren Garrison <cynapse at charter.net>:

> On Fri, 18 Aug 2006 15:36:14 -0400, you wrote:
> 
> >Apologies, if this link was posted previously.
> >
> >Some nice, high resolution graphics and a video fly-by, relative to the 
> >on-going debate/discussion...
> >
> >http://www.iau2006.org/mirror/www.iau.org/iau0601/iau0601_release.html
> 
> Thanks for supplying these.  I've seen thumbnail sized copies of them
> included
> in news stories before and did a little digging looking for the full images,
> but
> wasn't successful.  This image kind of confuses me, though:
> 
> http://www.iau2006.org/mirror/www.iau.org/iau0601/screen/iau0601c.jpg
> 
> It shows 2003 EL61 as highly distorted in shape, but shows it as a "planet
> candidate", but by their own proposal it wouldn't be concidered a planet if
> it
> had that non-hydrostatic equilibrium shape.
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-- 
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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