Well with that settled, would it be too late to recall the New Horizons Probe? Seems a waste to have it answer a question that has been resolved and to spend that kind of money on something less than a real planet??? Please!!!! BTW - Anyone know how to get Pluto out of the "Planets" section of a Celestron Nextstar? I need to move it over to the "insignificant space rubble" section... Poor Percival! (Sorry flagstaff...) Jimmy Ray ---- Thom/TFW <mthomj@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: > http://www.iau2006.org/mirror/www.iau.org/iau0603/index.html > IAU 2006 General Assembly: Result of the IAU Resolution votes > > 24. August 2006, Prague > > > > .....IAU Resolution: Definition of a Planet in the Solar System > Contemporary observations are changing our understanding of planetary > systems, and it is important that our nomenclature for objects reflect our > current understanding. This applies, in particular, to the designation > 'planets'. The word 'planet' originally described 'wanderers' that were known > only as moving lights in the sky. Recent discoveries lead us to create a new > definition, which we can make using currently available scientific > information. > > RESOLUTION 5A > The IAU therefore resolves that "planets" and other bodies in our Solar > System be defined into three distinct categories in the following way: > > (1) A "planet"1 is a celestial body that (a) is in orbit around the Sun, (b) > has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so > that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape, and (c) has > cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit. > > (2) A "dwarf planet" is a celestial body that (a) is in orbit around the Sun, > (b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so > that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape2 , (c) has not > cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit, and (d) is not a satellite. > > (3) All other objects3 except satellites orbiting the Sun shall be referred > to collectively as "Small Solar-System Bodies". > > > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > 1The eight planets are: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, > and Neptune. > 2An IAU process will be established to assign borderline objects into either > dwarf planet and other categories. > 3These currently include most of the Solar System asteroids, most > Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs), comets, and other small bodies. > -- See message header for info on list archives or unsubscribing, and please send personal replies to the author, not the list.