CAH Posted February 14, 2005 Share Posted February 14, 2005 FLAGSTAFF, Arizona (AP) -- It's been 75 years since the discovery of Pluto, but it remains a mystery. Perhaps in another 10 years some of its secrets will be revealed when a space probe gets close enough for a good look. Pluto was quickly heralded as the ninth planet in the solar system when it was spotted February 18, 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh, a young amateur astronomer at Lowell Observatory. It still holds that title today, if somewhat tenuously. "It's a misbehaved planet if you want to think about it as a planet," said Neil deGrasse Tyson, director of New York's Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History. Tyson provocatively removed Pluto from his exhibit of planets five years ago, lumping it instead with a belt of comets at the edge of the solar system. "I still have folders of hate mail from third-graders," he said. Pluto was discovered in a search for a theoretical ninth planet. The 26-year-old Tombaugh was given the assignment. Had he not been so attentive, he might have missed Pluto as he stared through an eyepiece while switching back and forth between photographic images of the night sky over northern Arizona. But he believed right away the recurring speck he saw was the elusive Planet X later called Pluto. At the time it was discovered, Pluto was the only known object beyond Neptune in the solar system. When its moon, Charon, was spotted, that seemingly confirmed Pluto's planet status. Pluto also has an atmosphere and seasons. Complicating the debate is that there is no official definition for a planet. Setting standards like size limits or orbital patterns potentially invites other objects to take the "planet" label, while throwing Pluto out. "It's a controversy that flares up and then subsides. I don't know what the outcome will be," said Millis. "It's more interesting to me: What is Pluto really like, than what is Pluto?" more: http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/space/02/13/p...v.ap/index.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lav-chan Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 I don't know much about astronomy and stuff, so... i pretty much don't really know what i'm talking about... but i think that Pluto and Charon are one of those, you know, binary system things. Charon isn't a moon, it's a companion. They're like almost the same size. Whether or not they're actually planets, i don't know... but for now i think we can all agree that they're at least 'planetoids'. gg startrek :'D~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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