10 planets and growing...

[Zerocool Djx]

Sorry apparently there are 13 Planets now, this just one of 5 dwarf stars discovered since 2006.

I'm not sure if this is old news or not but,..

http://www.gps.caltech.edu/~mbrown/planetlila/ (http://www.gps.caltech.edu/%7Embrown/planetlila/)

I'm always interested in space. Ever since I was a kid. I hope one day we travel among the stars like Star Trek, ::crosses fingers::


And I just find this little Gem simply amazing! I didn't know there was a planet in the Asteroid belt! AND! It Most likely has water!

http://www.universetoday.com/26587/life-on-ceres-could-the-dwarf-planet-be-the-root-of-panspermia/

[wolfen69]

There are only 8 planets. The rest are nothing but glorified asteroids.

[speedwell68]

There are only 8 planets. The rest are nothing but glorified asteroids.

There were 9 last time I checked.

Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Pluto

[s.fox]

There were 9 last time I checked.

Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune[/URL]
Pluto

Pluto was reclassified as dwarf planet - [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pluto#2006:_IAU_classification"]link (http://ubuntuforums.org/editpost.php?do=editpost&p=10988063)

[alphacrucis2]

Eight planets plus five dwarf planets. The dwarf planets classified by the IAU are

Eris
Pluto
Haumea
Makemake
Ceres

There are a bunch of other objects that don't quite make the grade as dwarf planets.

[SoFl W]

I'm always interested in space. Ever since I was a kid. I hope one day we travel among the stars like Star Trek, ::crosses fingers::


Why Space travel will suck (http://www.cracked.com/article_18547_6-reasons-space-travel-will-always-suck.html) (Worse than a Heid's (http://heidsofliverpool.com/) hot dog. <- that is a reference only for Zerocool Djx)
Six weirdest dangers of space travel (http://www.cracked.com/article_19158_the-6-weirdest-dangers-space-travel.html)

[alphacrucis2]

Sorry apparently there are 13 Planets now, this just one of 5 dwarf stars discovered since 2006.

I'm not sure if this is old news or not but,..

http://www.gps.caltech.edu/~mbrown/planetlila/ (http://www.gps.caltech.edu/%7Embrown/planetlila/)



Your link tells you that Eris was originally named "2003 UB313". That tells you when Eris was discovered.

[Bandit]

There are only 8 planets. The rest are nothing but glorified asteroids.
True that. Pluto and the rest are smaller then some of Jupiter's moons alone.



There were 9 last time I checked.

Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Pluto

Traditionally yes. Pluto is one of those argued planets / rocks.. For political correctness I use the term dwarf planet. But sadly our moon could be called a dwarf planet also if it wasnt caught in our planetary pull.


There are no telling how many objects are outside the Kuiper Belt. Wikipedia reports around ~70,000 objects at least 100km in size.

[chegarty]

When I was younger I remember being amazed that Saturn had so many moons. I remember reading 27 or some other large number. I looked it up because I knew it increased after they found some new ones, and I think it's up to 53 or something insane like that.

EDIT: Wikipedia says 67. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moons_of_Saturn)

[PhillyPhil]

Why Space travel will suck (http://www.cracked.com/article_18547_6-reasons-space-travel-will-always-suck.html) (Worse than a Heid's (http://heidsofliverpool.com/) hot dog. <- that is a reference only for Zerocool Djx)
Six weirdest dangers of space travel (http://www.cracked.com/article_19158_the-6-weirdest-dangers-space-travel.html)

Aw, cracked.com is grinding the daydreams of millions of small boys (and, ahem, grown men...) into dust here!

Let's see if we can't push back a little :D

Space travel sucks:
6. Stanford torus

5. No-one's going to say submarines are luxury, but they don't have to be as bad as shown there. http://cdn.cbsi.com.au/story_media/339304674/get-wet-with-submarine-tech-photos_20.jpg
Comfort is only a function of money. There's no physical reason why you couldn't have luxury space travel.

4. Stanford torus

3. The truth is somewhere in between. From earth space can look at least as good as this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsampson/1163407550/
or near a planet: https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/wiki/File:Earth_&_Mir_%28STS-71%29.jpg

2. Ok, can't argue with that (unless someone can carry a sun around in their pocket to create a wormhole), but that isn't really a problem with the travel, just the destination... um, isn't it?

1. This just sounds like "it'll suck if it sucks"/"it'll be scary".


Weird dangers:
6. That's a moon problem, not a space travel problem.

5. Earth problem, not a space travel problem. No doubt someone will make a business of removing junk from orbit for safety one day anyway...

4. With their reverse lightning rods that sounds like another moon-specific problem. How big of a problem is it anyway - didn't hurt the moon landings...

3. No problem. Either we'll leave space walking to robots, or we'll make suits out of unobtanium ;)

2. Keep an eye on the fuel gauge!

1. Stanford torus


Phew! Becoming Han Solo within the next couple of years still a totally realistic goal! :P

[Legendary_Bibo]

There are only 8 planets. The rest are nothing but glorified asteroids.

http://s3.amazonaws.com/theoatmeal-img/comics/shovel/3.png

- The Oatmeal

[Paqman]

8 planets in this solar system, and so far 563 exoplanets discovered, with hundreds more possibles from the Kepler space telescope.

Interesting times!

[MasterNetra]

8 planets in this solar system, and so far 563 exoplanets discovered, with hundreds more possibles from the Kepler space telescope.

Interesting times!

With countless more yet to be discovered by astronomers/equipment.

[Zerocool Djx]

just keeps going,...

Plannet Sedna (http://www.planetary.org/news/2004/0315_Beyond_the_Kuiper_Belt_Astronomers.html)

[Zerocool Djx]

Located at RA 13h50m21.24s , Dec -8*40'57.11" is a mystery to me. It's the only thing in Google sky that is blocked out like it's obvious someone put that there and not some mapping defect as there giant slice in the image when zoomed out. I always wondered why that is.

http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l504/zerocool9455/Figurethisout.jpg

[Zerocool Djx]

what is beyond the Kuiper belt? Say hello to the Ort Cloud :)

Ort Cloud (http://www.windows2universe.org/comets/Oort_cloud.html)

[SoFl W]

The earth might have another friend besides the moon. Trojan asteroid tags along on Earth's orbit. (http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-trojan-asteroid-20110728,0,284121.story)

[BeRoot ReBoot]

The earth might have another friend besides the moon. Trojan asteroid tags along on Earth's orbit. (http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-trojan-asteroid-20110728,0,284121.story)

There's a difference between "orbiting the Earth" and "sharing the same orbit as Earth". The Space Station, satellites, Moon etc orbit the Earth directly. That asteroid just orbits the sun at a similar distance as the Earth.

[dh04000]

Sorry, Double Post.

[dh04000]

I don't know if this thread willbe considered Necro'd.....but........ turns out our little dwarf planet Pluto has 4 MOONS!

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14220620

That little Kelper body object is such a hoarder! Picking junk up out of space and keeping it to its self!

[BeRoot ReBoot]

That little Kelper body object is such a hoarder! Picking junk up out of space and keeping it to its self!

That's "Kuiper belt object". Know your astronomers: Kuiper (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerard_Kuiper), Kepler (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kepler).

[mips]

Does it really matter seeing it's just another BIG mass orbiting the sun. We know it's out there, it's classification is of lesser importance.

[Bandit]

I am not sure the term "lesser importance" is the one I would use. Everything as large as a small car or larger is dangerous to us here on earth. You throw a iron rock the size of most modern US refrigerators at the earth at about 10,000 Km/ph and it has enough explosive force to take out Manhattan Island in NewYork.. (E=mc^2) really equals.. Kaboom!

[drawkcab]

I guess I should hold off on publishing my defense of Ptolemaic epicycles?

[Paqman]

You throw a iron rock the size of most modern US refrigerators at the earth at about 10,000 Km/ph and it has enough explosive force to take out Manhattan Island in NewYork.. (E=mc^2) really equals.. Kaboom!

Er, right idea, wrong equation. A big falling rock would be E = 0.5mv^2

[Bandit]

Er, right idea, wrong equation. A big falling rock would be E = 0.5mv^2

Good looking out.. hehe
I thought about that after I posted it before bed, but figured no one would notice.. :D