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anth
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# Posted: 11 Sep 2006 16:11
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This is what's known as "putting the boot in".....
Pluto is Now Just a Number: 134340
Pluto has been given a new name to reflect its new status as a dwarf planet.
On Sept. 7, the former 9th planet was assigned the asteroid number 134340 by the Minor Planet Center (MPC), the official organization responsible for collecting data about asteroids and comets in our solar system.
The move reinforces the International Astronomical Union's (IAU) recent decision to strip Pluto of its planethood and places it in the same category as other small solar-system bodies with accurately known orbits.
Pluto's companion satellites, Charon, Nix and Hydra are considered part of the same system and will not be assigned separate asteroid numbers, said MPC director emeritus Brian Marsden. Instead, they will be called 134340 I, II and III, respectively.
There are currently 136,563 asteroid objects recognized by the MPC; 2,224 new objects were added last week, of which Pluto was the first.
Other notable objects to receive asteroid numbers included 2003 UB313, also known as "Xena," and the recently discovered Kuiper Belt objects 2003 EL61 and 2005 FY9. Their asteroid numbers are 136199, 136108 and 136472, respectively.
The MPC also issued a separate announcement stating that the assignment of permanent asteroid numbers to Pluto and other large objects located beyond the orbit of Neptune "does not preclude their having dual designations in possible separate catalogues of such bodies."
Marsden explained that the cryptic wording refers to the future possibility of creating a separate astronomical catalogue specific to dwarf planets. There might even be more than one catalogue created, he said.
Tw*ts.
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demonvamp
Member
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# Posted: 11 Sep 2006 16:48
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<!--QuoteBegin--anth+Sep. 11 2006,16:11--></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td><b>Quote</b> (anth @ Sep. 11 2006,16:11)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"><!--QuoteEBegin-->Other notable objects to receive asteroid numbers included <b>2003 UB313</b>, also known as "Xena," and the recently discovered Kuiper Belt objects 2003 EL61 and 2005 FY9. Their asteroid numbers are 136199, 136108 and 136472, respectively.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--><br>This is getting beyond a joke now and even more confusing than it was!<br><br>There's bound to be a big backlash now and oh... it's also known as Youbelly! <!--emo&;)--><img src="http://www.outpost10f.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/win.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=';)'><!--endemo--> <br><br>QD <!--emo&:D--><img src="http://www.outpost10f.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/haw.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':D'><!--endemo-->
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kittykat
Member
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# Posted: 12 Sep 2006 00:31
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Poor Pluto
Will we change our habits though or still call it Pluto? Still include it in our mnemonic?
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anth
Member
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# Posted: 12 Sep 2006 02:12
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I will certainly continue to call Pluto, Pluto. I'll also still call it a planet, and i consider myself an avid amatuer astronomer. So too will the general public i think.
Considering only about 2% of proffessional astronomers actualy voted on Pluto's fate, i refuse to accept it.
Lets not forget NASA have only recently fired off a space probe to Pluto. No way are they going to say "hey! we've got a $400 million mission on the way to 134130!"
The only people who are going to refer to Pluto as 134130 are the people at the minor planet offices ( who started all this ), and those submitting official scientific papers.
I just hope that future generations, those which follow the children who have only just recently learned the nine planets etc at school. Still refer to Pluto as a planet. Lets hope this generation is not the last.
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