Podcast Featuring Pluto New Horizons Mission PI Alan Stern

[chamberland]

There is a fascinating podcast available at QuantumLimit.com featuring Pluto New Horizons Mission Principal Investigator Dr. Alan Stern. The podcast features an in-depth look at the recent decision by the IAU to remove Pluto from the Solar System’s planetary roster and the firestorm it has caused. <br /><br />http://QuantumLimit.com<br />

 

[MeteorWayne]

Thanks for posting this.<br />If you are interested in the Pluto debate, it's definately worth listening to! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[jmilsom]

Yes. It is an excellent interview. Alan Stern quite elegantly dissects the recent IAU decision. I agree wholeheartedly with his views. 'Planet' should be the root taxon for bodies that have reached hydrostatic equilibrium. <br /><br />I very much appreciated his comment that at a time when we are just starting to learn about the incredible diveristy of planetary bodies in the galaxy, the IAU has put a rope around the definition, and says, I quote 'It's like the IAU has become the church.' <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[mikeemmert]

Well, for one thing the interview was really long. I fell behind in my life listening to it. But it was a short stretch and I have caught up now.<br /><br />I do disagree with Dr. Stern, very much. As you know, I'm trying to figure out dynamics, so I tend to gravitate towards taking that viewpoint. It's certainly not a light subject! You might think it would go the other way, since I'm round and Dr. Stern is in excellent physical condition, still we are arguing about the definition of a certain word, which is English lit. There is little to connect the two, so whatever the ruling is, is the ruling.<br /><br />It's strange he should mention a church, since a lot of astronomers I know are atheists. But Dr. Stern mentioned God a couple of times. I wouldn't call the IAU a chuch. More like a revival meeting.<br /><br />Dr. Stern makes a good point that the definition does'nt seem to fit other solar systems that we know about. But, think about what people reading science fiction have been thinking all these years when they hear the word, "planet". These would be places where people live. It was thought possible that both Venus and Mars might be inhabited all the way up until the 1950's or so. The dynamical disasters we see in other solar system result in bodies with very eccentric orbits which are highly unlikely to harbor living things. So perhaps they shouldn't be called, "planets".<br /><br />If the body is round, shouldn't the orbit be round, too?<br /><br />Now, seriously, I think Dr. Stern, having spent years trying to sell New Horizons to a skeptical Congress, has gotten it firmly entrenched in his mind that Pluto is a planet. This makes it easier to sell the mission, let's face facts. And it's an emotional thing, too, he worked hard to see the mission get funded.<br /><br />It's very important to get to know the Kuiper belt. Pluto doesn't need a name that does not reflect the reality of the situation.

 

[jmilsom]

I imagine the definition will continue to be refined / amended in the coming years. I still hold to, a body with enough gravity to resolve itself into a sphere (the minimum potential energy surface) through hydrostatic equilibirum, as the fundamental defining factor of a planet. As he points out that it must orbit the 'sun' or even a star has a weakness. What if we find a planet like, say Mercury, that has through gravitational dynamics been flung away from its star and is floating through open space? Is this no longer a planet?<br /><br />And to clear the neighbourhood is biased towards bodies close to the star. As he states if we put Earth in an orbit out at Pluto or Jupiter in the Oort cloud, they would not be able to clear their neighbourhoods, so would not be planets. What if we find a large body with an eccentric orbit in the Oort cloud or beyond - what will it be? Anyway, it will be interesting to see how it all evolves. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>