C
cuddlyrocket
Guest
"Who want's to see our Moon become designated as a planet? It will eventually meet all the criterea..."<br />I'd be surprised if <i>anyone</i> on this board sees the Moon become a planet! That wouldn't happen for some 4 billion years or so!<br /><br />Really! The <i>entire</i> span of human recorded history is only 5,000 years! Do you honestly think this definition is going to last for the next 5,000, let alone 4 billion, years? No-one for the foreseeable future is going to see a Moon become a planet by way of orbital recession - let's have a definition that's usable for our current needs and in the light of our current knowledge. The unimaginably far future can take care of itself!<br /><br />"I really like that the new proposal keeps the planet designation only for the largest and most significant members of Solar Systems..."<br /><br />Most significant? To whom? And defined as....?<br /><br />Anyway, it's not even true. Imagine a solar system with five objects the size of Ceres, and two objects the size of Jupiter orbiting each other whilst going round their star. And nothing else apart from some small asteroids, comets etc.<br /><br />The five Ceres-sized objects would be planets by the new definition, but the two Jupiter-sized ones would not!