[meteorite-list] Planets Galore

From: E.P. Grondine <epgrondine_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Fri Aug 18 13:17:44 2006
Message-ID: <20060818171741.96474.qmail_at_web36902.mail.mud.yahoo.com>

Hi Mike, list -

So let's look at this as process -

Whatever this current committee does, as very many
more new KBOs and Oort cloud objects are discovered
which fit their new definition for planet,

and as memory of Clyde's discovery fades, along with
the passing of many of his colleagues,

then that future IAU formally adopts Brown's
definition - a planet has to be large enough to clear
its part of the accretion ring. And then Pluto gets
"demoted", and Clyde becomes the FIRST discovere of a
KBO.

Of course, there'll be a lot of trees killed for
needless paper in the meantime.

good hunting,
Ed

PS - Mike, as an anthropologist you'll definitely want
a copy of my book "Man and Impact in the Americas",
now available through amazon.com.


--- Michael L Blood <mlblood_at_cox.net> wrote:

> As an Anthropologist and Sociologist
> I find myself more interested in WHO
> considers these changes in nomenclature
> desirable and who considers them undesirable.
> As for myself, I consider sweeping changes
> such as this highly undesirable. This fits in with
> several elements dealing with human preferances,
> which appear to be at least related clear back to
> the Order level, as many parallels can be made
> to Baboon preferences.
> The primary determinant to acceptance of
> change
> appears to be most closely associated with aging.
> However,
> at what age preferences remain open differ, at least
> among
> humans - US dwellers specifically.
> For instance. Baboons in the later phases of
> life, particularly
> the higher ranking males, will NOT eat new foods,
> even if the
> troup moves (or is relocated) to an area or refuge
> where many
> new and desirable foodstuffs are readily available.
> In the US, people will not try new foods
> after about the age
> of 35. For instance, a Sushi restraint has nearly no
> hope of making
> it among the older diners in the midwest, as most of
> the population
> over 35 have never eaten sushi and, therefore, are
> not open to trying
> it.
> However, such preferences are not limited to
> foodstuff, and
> "new" or "adventurous" behavior is also limited.
> Music seems to be
> one of the most rigid criteria, with preferences
> beginning at about
> 14 and lasting only until somewhere between 21 and
> 30ish. After
> that, little "new" styles tend to be accepted and
> the individual will
> forever drift toward the music of his/her "youth."
> In other things,
> ranging from sports to toothpaste the more
> successful a person is
> in a "stable" career, the less flexible they seem to
> be.
> Therefore, I will choose to view my total
> resentment of this
> "planet" taxonomy revolution as being hogwash due to
> my long
> term successfulness in my chosen fields. (But how do
> I then explain
> my ever growing fascination with new interests????)
> Anyway, food for thought, even if you don't
> like sushi!
> Michael
>
> on 8/17/06 4:31 AM, Francis Graham at
> francisgraham_at_rocketmail.com wrote:
>
> > Dear List:
> > I enjoyed the debate and conversation on this list
> > on the subject of what a definition of a planet
> is. It
> > was not acrimonious and personal, and was very
> > interesting and worthwhile.
> > Many of us do not care if Ceres is a planet or
> even
> > if the old Apollo rocket stages are called planets
> > --well, maybe I stretch it there--, the important
> > thing is to have a definition of a term that must
> be
> > used in scholarly journals and go on. Of course
> common
> > usage will differ from the IAU definition, and
> that is
> > OK. After all, we still speak of sunrise and
> sunset,
> > although we no longer regard the Universe as
> > Ptolemaic.
> > As for astrologers, some will be confused and some
> > will see it as a bonanza. That is their concern.
> This
> > list is concerned with the scientific study and
> other
> > aspects of meteorites, and the definition of
> planet is
> > important to this list because meteorites can come
> > from some of these bodies.
> > The worst possible outcome is to have no
> definition
> > approved. If the definition is later shown to be
> > faulty, or fails to optimally facilitate the
> > communication of scientific results, it can be
> > ammended later.
> > There is an analogy to this confusion. In some
> > states of the USA people are permitted to marry at
> a
> > young age. Having done so, they move to another
> state
> > without such laws, and are arrested for sex
> crimes.
> > While this is much more a serious non-uniformity
> > problem than the definition of a planet, it
> adequately
> > illustrates the problem that nonuniformity
> creates.
> > What one journal calls a planet another will not
> > allow, this is akin to the young-marriage problem.
> A
> > popular science writer would have to have a
> separate
> > list of acceptable planets for each editor. It is
> > better to have even a mediocre uniformity than
> > confusion. And by no means am I necessarily
> calling
> > the proposed definition mediocre. It was clearly
> > carefully thought out by many people. But even if
> it
> > were mediocre, I would still favor it because it
> would
> > end confusion on the issue.
> > Mars with his war chariot, Jupiter with his
> > thunder, it is nice to have little farmer Ceres
> > finally joining the retinue.
> >
> > Francis Graham
> >
> >
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Received on Fri 18 Aug 2006 01:17:41 PM PDT