Space, Dreams and Beyond

August 24, 2006

Sorry, No more ‘Pizza’

Filed under: space — tismarkhan @ 8:05 pm

My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas..if this phrase reminds you of nine Planets, better change it to My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nothing, because International Astronomical Union, declared today that Pluto is  not a planet anymore and neither are other three contenders (Ceres, Charon and Xena) who were hoping to hop into  planet family.

So its not nine, certainly not twelve ., its just Eight Planets.

Pluto looses out on last two of the three conditions as presented on BBC

  • it must be in orbit around the Sun
  • it must be large enough that it takes on a nearly round shape
  • it has cleared its orbit of other objectsSo yes size does matter..!

    I doubt if anything would change in Nasa’a  Horizon mission which was launched early this year and is scheduled to reach the so far largest of dwarf planets and once a planet, Pluto by 2015.

    On another note, the present configuration will still have only 5 planets in common with Navagraha (Nine Planets) according to Indian Mythology. These navagrahas are Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Rahu and Ketu. (First seven representing the seven days of the week in order). 

    Pluto was kind of my favorite planet so far but I agree that it has to go because if it stays, there would be at least 100 more neighboring objects which have to be let in. This decision will surely throw Pluto into anonymity. How many of us heard of Ceres before  which was also a planet once upon a time?

    But again, so what? Why do I care if Pluto is a planet or not? How did it effect me when it was one. Other than my neighbor naming a dog after then ninth planet, I do not see how else it would have changed the life around me..

    Nonetheless, Pluto, I will miss you, from this planet..!

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