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To: freedumb2003
Pluto should have been grandfathered in. Maybe call it a Planet Emeritus.

They could go back to the ancient meaning of planet as a bright object that wanders in the sky (compared to the "fixed" stars). Of course the ancients had 7 planets but we would have to leave out the sun and the moon, so there would be 5 (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn). "Bright objects which reflect light from the sun and move in a regular fashion compared to the stars." Maybe there would be a way to work the earth into the definition.

The rest--Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, the asteroids, the Kuiper Belt objects, the comets, could be "solar satellites." Smaller objects orbiting a planet or a solar satellite could be called a "planetary parasite" or a "solar satellite parasite."

28 posted on 03/19/2017 6:09:24 PM PDT by Verginius Rufus
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To: Verginius Rufus

>>The rest—Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, the asteroids, the Kuiper Belt objects, the comets, could be “solar satellites.” Smaller objects orbiting a planet or a solar satellite could be called a “planetary parasite” or a “solar satellite parasite.”<<

Yes, it does look like we need a new planet taxonomy. But we have to do it so the lesser planets don’t shriek for their safe spaces.


32 posted on 03/19/2017 6:13:51 PM PDT by freedumb2003 (Not tired of winning yet!)
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