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Telling the history of our time in song. MIDI - ALSO SPRACH ZARATHUSTRA (2001)

PRAGUE, Czech Republic - Leading astronomers declared Thursday that Pluto is no longer a planet under historic new guidelines that downsize the solar system from nine planets to eight. After a tumultuous week of clashing over the essence of the cosmos, the International Astronomical Union stripped Pluto of the planetary status it has held since its discovery in 1930. The new definition of what is — and isn't — a planet fills a centuries-old black hole for scientists who have labored since Copernicus without one. Although astronomers applauded after the vote, Jocelyn Bell Burnell — a specialist in neutron stars...

only 8 planets now in the solar system

Pluto was looking more and more like a goner yesterday as astronomers meeting in Prague continued to debate the definition of a planet. “I think that today can go down as the ‘day we lost Pluto,’ ” said Jay Pasachoff of Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., in an e-mail message from Prague. Under fire from other astronomers and the public, a committee appointed by the International Astronomical Union revised and then revised again a definition proposed last week that would have expanded the number of official planets to 12, locking in Pluto as well as the newly discovered Xena in...

All hell broke loose today as astronomers began openly debating the definition of "planet" at the general assembly of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in Prague, Czech Republic. About 100 planetary scientists — and just as many interested onlookers from other disciplines — met to discuss the definition that was proposed earlier this week (see our August 16th story and Robert Naeye's blog) and that is scheduled for an up-or-down vote among all 2,500 attendees at the assembly next Thursday, August 24th.

Is string theory the answer to the last big questions in physics, or a dead end? While some physicists believe that string theory could lead to a unifying 'theory of everything,' detractors say that string theory is sloppy and founded on unwarranted assumptions. One new book calls string theory 'not even wrong.' In this hour of Science Friday, we'll look at the pros and con of string theory, with physicists Lee Smolin and Brian Greene.

Not for the first time, but with new urgency in 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) impaneled a committee to define both the word "planet" and the status of Pluto. Our committee -- seven in number, like the planets of old -- met at the Paris Observatory in late June and reached a unanimous agreement. In short: A planet is a body in orbit around a star (as opposed to orbiting another planet) and big enough for gravity to make it round. The full text of our proposed definition is being released today, to be discussed by astronomers from around...

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has gathered in Prague to finally settle a matter of galactic import: whether Pluto is in fact a planet or should be relegated to the second division of Kuiper Belt Objects and similar detritus. Astonomers have to date failed dismally to agree what exactly constitutes a planet, as demonstrated by last year's Xena controversy which saw stargazers claim they'd discovered the solar system's tenth full-fat planet, while others used the opportunity to call for Pluto and Xena's classification as minor planets. The matter may soon be settled once and for all, The Detroit Free Press...

News leaks about the planet definition began to spout late this week, as the authors prepared to present a draft resolution to the IAU's executive committee Sunday in Prague. The IAU is the official arbiter of all issues related to astronomical nomenclature. In a story that aired Thursday, unnamed sources told National Public Radio the proposed definition would include Pluto in a new class of small planets. A source also told the Rocky Mountain News on Thursday that a member of the seven-person definition panel said Pluto will remain a planet. IAU Vice President Bob Williams described the reports as...

Jacob admitted that he has not ironed out details of his proposed immigration FastPass, styled after the pass used at Disneyland. Park visitors can go to a ride, obtain a FastPass, and then return during a specific time and go to the front of the line. Cannon pressed him on which illegal aliens would qualify for a FastPass. Jacob said it would not be for everyone, only those who had been in America for 10 to 20 years. If they've actually been here that long, show us the five Social Security numbers you've used, get an affidavit from your wife...

In these last days, the Bible says it will be a time of mass hybridization and the mixture and corruption of human DNA by fallen angels, also known as "Aliens." The government is and has been, conditioning the existence of aliens through Hollywood, science fiction, cartoons, and other sources. However, they are not telling you the whole truth. These Aliens are not ascended masters, or enlightened ones, or beings from galaxies millions of miles away, nor are they our forefathers or original creators. They are fallen angels who were kicked out of heaven for their rebellion against the headship...

“And certainly We gave Moses nine clear signs; so ask the Children of Israel. When he came to them, Pharaoh said to him: Surely I deem thee, O Moses, to be one bewitched. He said: Truly thou knowest that none but the Lord of the heavens and the earth has sent these as clear proofs; and surely I believe thee, O Pharaoh, to be lost.” -Holy Qur’an, Surah 17, verses 101-102 Upon more than one occasion prior to the Honorable Elijah Muhammad’s departure in 1975, we who were among his family members and Laborers, who sat with him at his...

Close window Published online: 1 February 2006; | doi:10.1038/news060130-7 'Tenth Planet' found to be a whopperLarge size of 2003 UB313 fuels debate over what is and isn't a planet.Mark Peplow 2003 UB313 and its moon - currently nicknamed Xena and Gabrielle - take time off from their sword and sorcery shenanigans.© W. M. Keck Observatory The recently discovered 'tenth planet' of our Solar System is substantially larger than Pluto, astronomers have found. For many, the discovery that object 2003 UB313 is about 3,000 kilometres across will remove any doubt that it deserves to be called a planet. "Since UB313...

Claims that the Solar System has a 10th planet are bolstered by the announcement today that an icy body at its fringes is bigger than Pluto. *** "Since UB313 is decidedly larger than Pluto," said Prof Bertoldi, "it is now increasingly hard to justify calling Pluto a planet if UB313 is not also given this status."

LONDON (Reuters) - A distant object discovered in space last year which could be the 10th planet in our solar system is around a third bigger than Pluto, German astrophysicists said on Wednesday. They determined the diameter of the potential new planet, known as 2003 UB313, by measuring its thermal emission. "We actually measured the size of UB313 which was not known prior to these observations," Professor Frank Bertoldi, of the University of Bonn and the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Germany who headed the research team, said in an interview with Reuters. According to their calculations it...

LOS ANGELES - Scientists say they have confirmed that a so-called 10th planet discovered last year is bigger than Pluto, but that likely won't quell the debate over what makes a planet. The astronomers who spotted the icy, rocky body — informally called UB313 — had reported only a rough estimate of its size based on its brightness. But another group of researchers has come up with what is believed to be the first calculation of UB313's diameter. By measuring how much heat it radiates, German scientists led by Frank Bertoldi of the University of Bonn estimated that UB313 was...

At the dawn of the atomic age, scientists began work on what might have been the nastiest weapon ever conceived.Those who came of age during the era of Three Mile Island and Chernobyl are probably too young to remember the happy days when "our friend the atom" promised electricity too cheap to meter and cars that would run forever without a fill-up. With atom-powered subs like the Nautilus cruising under the polar icecap in the mid-1950s, could anyone doubt that atom-powered rocketships, airplanes, and even automobiles would be far behind? A funny thing happened to that dream on its way...

Cloud Cover Delays New Horizons Launch For 1:45 p.m. EST Thursday, January 19: Today's launch is now slated for no earlier than 2:00 p.m. EST (1900 GMT), delayed due to thick cloud cover over the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station launch site. Today's launch window runs until 3:07 p.m. EST (2007 GMT). New Horizons was originally slated to launch today at 1:08 p.m. EST (1808 GMT), though it has a launch window that extends for one-hour and 59 minute launch window. NASA has an opportunity to launch the spacecraft each day until Feb. 14, but must launch by Feb. 2...

NASA's New Horizons mission to Pluto is underway. The spacecraft lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 2 p.m. EST today. Follow the rocket's climb into space in our Mission Status Center.

NASA's New Horizons mission to Pluto is proceeding toward launch on Jan. 19. The launch opportunity runs from 1:08 p.m. - 3:07 p.m. EST. A power outage this morning at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland, where the spacecraft will be operated in flight, had led mission managers to postpone today's launch attempt at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. Power has since been restored to the Laboratory campus; the New Horizons Mission Operations Center has both primary and backup power and is ready to support tomorrow's launch.