IAU Rejects name of Vulcan for Pluto moon

Discussion in 'Science and Technology' started by Mysterion, Jul 2, 2013.

  1. Mysterion

    Mysterion Vice Admiral Admiral

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  2. iguana_tonante

    iguana_tonante Admiral Admiral

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    We'll crack that when we find one. No biggies.

    This, on the other hand, makes no sense. There is no "to me" here. Just a matter of consensus in the scientific community. You can claim that stars, cats, and verbs are all apples to you, and that would be equally meaningless.
     
  3. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    No, it sounds like a Greek word that hasn't been Latinized. That's how it's supposed to be spelled. Well, except... in the Greek alphabet.


    Plenty of asteroids have moons. A moon is a satellite of another object; that object is not required to be a planet.


    As I understand it, it's a collision of two separate proposals that don't mesh well. One proposal was for a subclass of planets that would be called dwarf planets; the other was for a class of non-planetary objects that would be called subplanets. Somehow the closed-door committee that slapped together a hasty compromise ended up taking a little from Column A and a little from Column B and ending up with a class of non-planetary objects called dwarf planets, which is conceptually, linguistically, and procedurally a mess. Although it certainly fits the classic definition of a compromise: an agreement that leaves both sides equally unhappy.
     
  4. iguana_tonante

    iguana_tonante Admiral Admiral

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    Having been in astrophysical committees, I have no troubles believing this.
     
  5. scotpens

    scotpens Professional Geek Premium Member

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    Have you been to Planetino's? Great Italian food but a little pricey. :)