Pluto Might Be Bigger Than Eris 257
astroengine writes "Look out, the battle of the dwarf planets is about to re-ignite! During last weekend's rare occultation of a star by Eris, astronomers managed to gain one of the most accurate measurements of Eris' physical size. When three Chilean telescopes watched the star blink out of sight, astronomers were shocked to find that Eris is actually a lot smaller than originally thought. So small that it might be smaller than Pluto. On speaking with Discovery News, Eris' discoverer Mike Brown said, 'While everyone is more interested in the "mine is bigger than yours" aspect, the real science is the shockingly large density of Eris.' The mass of Eris is well known, so this means the object is more dense than Pluto. Does this mean the two mini-worlds have different compositions? Did they evolve differently? In light of this finding, is the underlying argument for Pluto being demoted from the planetary club on wobbly ground?"
Requisite (Score:2, Funny)
http://xkcd.com/473/ [xkcd.com]
Sounds about right (Score:3, Funny)
This sounds about right; the Eris is a fairly tiny phone.
Oh wait...
Re:Cue (Score:4, Funny)
Fry: "Oh. What's it called now?"
Professor: "Urectum. Here, let me locate it for you."
Re:Pluto controversy (Score:1, Funny)
(Maybe it was Astrology people that were upset.)
Nope just Sailor Moon fans.
Re:still not a planet per the IAU (Score:2, Funny)
Neptune has a planetary discriminant of 2.4 x 10^4. A body with discriminant >= 1 is considered a planet.
Your argument is ridiculous. You have countered an emotionally driven fact-free whine with pertinent scientific information. The correct response in this situation is either "Nuh uh!" or "Your mom!"
Re:still not a planet per the IAU (Score:1, Funny)
The real reason is because Bush was in office, and Pluto's the only planet discovered by someone from the USA.
The vote was held at the last day of the Europe-based conference, after most of the American astronomers went home from the location.
Re:What does being old have to do with it? (Score:4, Funny)
NOT A FUCKING PLANET.
Re:Pluto controversy (Score:3, Funny)
Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Lost Episodes
The goddess of discord (Score:4, Funny)
The goddess of discord is certainly living up to her reputation.
"So you think you have me all figured out, do you? Heh, heh, heh."
So how long will it take to get there, how big of a dish will it take to get a signal back, and how much plutonium to power the instrument package and radio to find out what is really going on out there?