Possible new planet is larger than Pluto-research (Reuters demonstrates their ignorance yet again)

Reuters ^ | 2/1/06 | Patricia Reaney

[Freedumb]

Just another example demonstrating how little science/technical knowledge the typical MSM reporter/editor has. Hey geniuses at Reuters, Kepler figured out 400 years ago that the planets moved in an elliptical orbit, not a circular orbit. The Earth DOES NOT orbit consistently at 93 million miles, it varies from around 91 to 94.5 million miles.

[steveo]

"We actually measured the size of UB313 which was not known prior to these observations,"

So is it bigger than UB40?

[keithtoo]

Bigger than Ubie Blake?

[djf]

Yet if you were to visually inspect the Earths orbit from a long distance away, you'd be hard pressed to say it was not circular.

Same thing with the oblateness of the Earth. The Earth is actually more spherical than most pool balls you will ever see.

[JoeSixPack1]

Bigger than Ted Kennedy??

[opticks]

Yep, they are knuckleheads. But what do you expect when most people fear or loathe science when they are taught it in school? The "what makes a planet" debate is pretty interesting though. Personally, if a body has a sustainable atmosphere (however tenuous) that is independent of orbital position (ruling out comets), and does not revolve around another body (ruling out moons like Titan), then it probably deserves planethood.

[Vaquero]

what about RU486

[Verginius Rufus]

Pluto must have slowed down...it used to take 248 years for a single trip around the sun.

The last planet larger than Pluto discovered was also discovered in Germany, by Galle in 1846, using calculations sent him by a Frenchman, LeVerrier.

[Vaquero]

space ping

[1rudeboy]

By about 270.

[jiggyboy]

Well then I'm a dope too. If somebody asks me how far Earth is from the sun, I say 93 million miles; I don't additionally give a mini-lecture about focal points.

[dfwgator]

No, but it's bigger than Uranus.

[MeanWestTexan]

But not bigger than Ur-anus!

HAHAHAHA

Me so funnny.

[keithtoo]

Bigger, but not a gaseous, or Scotch-filled.

[raybbr]

The Earth is actually more spherical than most pool balls you will ever see.

No wonder I can't shoot straight. All thos tiny little mountains keep the ball falling off its track.

[scrabblehack]

Does this planet contradict Bode's law?

[SunkenCiv]

Bode's Law isn't a law, it's a mnemonic (at best). (':

[SunkenCiv]

Not to nitpick, but this has already appeared on FreeRepublic, and it's in the active list. :'(

[SunkenCiv]

New Planet Is Bigger Than Pluto
AP on Yahoo | 2/1/06 | Alicia Chang - ap
Posted on 02/01/2006 11:04:55 AM PST by NormsRevenge
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1569542/posts

[Freedumb]

I realized that the AP-Yahoo story was already posted, but it did not contain the error that the Reuters story did about the Earth being a constant distance (hence a circular orbit) from the Sun.

The reason for my post was not the story itself, but to point out that the Reuters reporter/editor seemed unaware of a fact that has been known for about 400 years.

While I would not criticize the average person if they made this mistake in a conversation, I would expect some degree of fact-checking by one of the largest news organizations in the world.