NASA finds the 10th Planet.

Remove all ads!

NASA has found, and will later formally announce, the 10th planet of our solar system.

The new planet has been designated "Sedna" after the Inuit goddess of the sea.

Here's the story:

http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/space/03/14/planet.discovery/index.html

 

No doubt there will be controversy over:

a) is it really a planet?
b) should it be named after a Roman god, like the others?

Anyway, they announced the 10th planet years ago on an episode of 'ALF'. Except he called the 10th planet "Dave".

 

I suppose it could be a planet, but really, does it matter that much?

 

I thought they'd already descovered up to the 12th planet, but most of them were so small that they haven't been widely recongisned. *shrugs slightly*

 

I have seen it on TV a few hours ago. I had to take the day off work, I am still really sick

I thought there was already a 10th planet anyway beyond Pluto, how can they just find a planet? How could they not have known about it? Planets don't just appear out of nowhere.

 

Whatever happens, I like the name "Sedna". It sounds planetary to me .

 

I heard the same things. There are large objects beyond Pluton, but they lack some characteristics of a planet, to be labeled as such.

 

Kuiper's belt is full of planetoids and stuff. While Pluto is the largest to date, objects like Varuna, Ixion or Quaoar are also candidates for the "planet" sticky.

Iirc, Pluto will likely remain labeled "planet" for good because, well, it has always been until recently.

"Sedna" ... Why not?

 

I heard this on the radio.

They were asking what people think it should be called - one woman phoned in and said "If there is Pluto there should be another Disney planet - I think it should be called Nemo."



Sedna sounds cool.

 

We should call it Vulcan.

 

I saw this on the news this morning, and I was not that surprised. Question is how many planets fit into our solar system, before they become too heavy for the suns gravity.

Sedna is a nice name.

 

It's strange that there isn't a formal definition of what constitutes a planet. Pluto is tiny. It's diameter is about the same as the diameter of the U.S. from west coast to east coast. Pluto will retain it's status because it has a moon. Although some people call it a dual planet system as the moon is nearly the same size as Pluto itself.

This new planet is about 85% the size of Pluto. So I don't know if that's big enough. Even if a number did exist though it would be arbitrary, just like other things we size. For example a mountain is required to be 1,000 ft high. Why is 1,000 feet critical? Why is something that's only 999 feet high just a really big hill?

I have no problem calling it a planet. If it's within the sun's gravitational pull and circles it, and it's big enough to land something on, it's a planet.

 

I thought there already was a planet called Vulcan that was supposed to be between Mercury and the sun or some such?

This Sedna looks far too small to be deemed a planet. Still, whatever secures the next grant application...

 

I thought a planet had to have satellites revolving around it to be called a "planet." I definitely like the name Sedna, but it is tiny!

I also remember there being more than one of these "planets." When I was in 5th grade [a looooong time ago, I might add] scientists discovered a "10th" planet that they just called planet "X." Either way, it's still an interesting find.

Speaking of interesting scientific scuffles, another one seems to be brewing...Take a look:

War of the Words: Scientist Attacks Alien Claims

 

Great, now the magical two-digit number has been reached and everyone can sigh from relief -until fever for THREE digit-number strikes.

Good name, IMO; even though it's not roman.

 

Sounds like just another comet to me. Chunk of ice and rock that orbits the sun that happens to be bigger than the others around it.

 

I'm curious how long it will take before some religious fanatic puts a special significance between the 10 planets and the 10 commandments.

 

Actually most scientists do not and will not consider Sedna a planet, even though it most likely does have a moon. Space.com has a good article on it. Most scientists no longer consider Pluto a planet but instead a Kupier object. Sedna is almost as large but nearly 3 times further out, actually making it an Oort Cloud Object. If Pluto was found today, it would not be a planet and if it had not been found accidentally, would have gone unnoticed for much longer.

 

That's no moon...It's a space station!