I am also eagerly awaiting the New Horizons fly-by of Pluto in July 2015.
I hope I make it.

>> ^bmacs27:

>> ^DarkenRahl:
If we all sat around watching you playing at your hobbies in your off time, we'd likely ask the same thing about your chosen profession, and likely be much more bored having watched what you consider hobbies...>> ^bmacs27:
Does he ever... like... do science?


Seriously though, does he have any real scientific credentials? That is, is he more Feynman or more Hawking?

Ask Pluto.

Pluto was discovered in 1930... then the Dust Bowl, the Great Depression, and WWII happened... makes you wonder doesn't it!

>> ^MayaBaba:

Good added facts there RFlagg.
You know since Pluto was declassified as a planet the worlds gone to hell in a hand basket - makes you wonder doesn't it!

More of "why pluto is not a planet." This video also discusses the orbit of Pluto which CGP Grey didn't mention. *promote

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90377 Sedna is a trans-neptunian Kuiper Belt object, comparable in size to Pluto, but its orbit never crosses Neptune's. Its discovery and strange orbit imply that its not been cleared out of the inner solar system by Neptune and implies that there are more, perhaps hundreds of similar objects of similar size in the far solar system. Read about it on the Wikipoodia.

Pluto will always be a planet to me. If you don't like it, stick with Uranus.

It's always been strange to me how it seems like EVERYONE who is in favor of Pluto being called a planet is also against all similar objects being called planets.

I guess they see any consistent definition as an attack on their childhood. How can you be that sentimental about your former ignorance?

>> ^KnivesOut:

It is... because your imaginary friend said so? Care to extrapolate a bit?>> ^shinyblurry:
Yes it is



I don't believe the Almighty has spoken on the matter, but since it is an arbitrary definition, I will arbitrarily declare that Pluto is indeed a planet. It has three moons, an atmosphere, and 75 years of precedent. I also support the original Draft Resolution 5 for GA-XXVI: Definition of a Planet that was presented at the IAU Planet Definition Committee in August of 2006:

A planet is a celestial body that (a) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape, and (b) is in orbit around a star, and is neither a star nor a satellite of a planet.

Pluto qualifies as a planet according to this definition. And if this complicates matter because of bodies like Eris Sedna, Pluto should simply be granted an exemption.

It is... because your imaginary friend said so? Care to extrapolate a bit?>> ^shinyblurry:

Yes it is

For someone (me) who learned that Pluto was a planet, then at some point after I left school, heard it wasn't (and without any explanation), this little piece of basic info brings it all into focus.

Why did it take so long for someone to tell us clearly what was going on?

Once we leave school, we're left in a black hole of learning with only our own microscopes to tunnel-vision our way through the facts and see the world around us. I yearn to return to school again

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Beat me by 2 1/2 hours. That's okay, saves me some space on my que.

That said, I think this is one of my least favorite videos of his. The reasons for Pluto not being a planet are far more involved, and he didn't even touch on the basics of the other reasons, nor did he explain that Pluto/Charon, Eris, Ceres and a few others are Dwarf Planets (Pluto and Eris technically belong to a sub-group of Dwarf Planets called Plutoid). Good video overall, but another 5 minutes would have helped give more detail.