zomg dirty dozen!

[anadamous]

The executive committee of the International Astronomical Union has added Ceres, Charon, and Xena to the list of official planets. Opening the door to chaos and anarchy, I say! ("There are 53 objects that meet the panel's criteria and probably many more to be discovered

Comments

[boneal01]

Doesn't Charon orbit Pluto? Or do they orbit each other? How does that work?

Double planets are cool.

But- so many new planets in the solar system!

[anadamous]

This "sufficiently round" criterion is hilarious. I bet you $5 that if it passes, there will be a new term that covers what we currently consider planets, like "significant planets" or "major planets" or something like that. I think it would be cleaner to make a new category for Pluto et al. But, it doesn't actually matter.

[jktstance]

Science textbook publishers are probably cursing up a storm over having to revise their charts...

[anadamous]

Are you kidding? They're cackling and rubbing their hands at all the revised editions everyone is going to have to order.

[jktstance]

Replace "publishers" with "writers" and then my comment then makes more sense.

[graydon]

Science textbook publishers are surely pleased, not angry. They get to sell millions of new books.

Perhaps primary science teachers will be distressed, though, at having to revisit the story of man's very early efforts at making jars stand upright.

[borcherm]

My Very Educated Mother Just Skewered Undead Ninjas?

[jamminrants]

I can stand on it and jump

So then, Jupiter wouldn't be a planet then, right?

[jamminrants]

Makes sense.

[tetetetigi]

XENA?

[anadamous]

Ha ha, as the classist tetetetigi will quickly tell you, that is properly "Proserpine", the Roman form of the name - since they're "Jupiter", not "Zeus", etc. But I agree that that would make the most sense, exiled out there with Pluto, especially since she'd be coming on the scene at the same time as Ceres.