spacetoday.net: space news from around the webin association with SpaceNews


New planet definition could demote Pluto
Posted: Wed, Aug 23, 2006, 8:25 AM ET (1225 GMT)
Pluto moons illustration (STScI) Less than a week after astronomers proposed a definition for the term "planet" that could increase the solar system's total to at least 12, a new definition has emerged that could not only eliminate the three new planets but also the ninth planet, Pluto. After a contentious meeting Tuesday at the International Astronomical Union meeting in Prague Tuesday, astronomers came up with a revised definition for the term planet. The original proposal required planets to be orbiting a star (and not be in orbit around another planet) and be "nearly" round; the new definition retains those rules but adds that the planet be the "dominant object in its local population zone". Worlds that meet the first two criteria, but not the third—such as Pluto and Ceres—would instead be classified as "dwarf planets". IAU members are scheduled to vote on the proposed definition on Thursday.
<<previous article   next article>>
news in brief
Space Force adds Rocket Lab and Stoke Space to NSSL contract
Posted: Sun, Mar 30 9:19 AM ET (1319 GMT)

Cygnus departs from ISS
Posted: Sun, Mar 30 9:14 AM ET (1314 GMT)

Vulcan Centaur certified for national security launches
Posted: Sun, Mar 30 9:10 AM ET (1310 GMT)

news links
Thursday, April 3
How a kid from Pemberton helped lead a landmark commercial Moon landing
Australian Broadcasting Corporation — 6:00 am ET (1000 GMT)
Eutelsat Begins OneWeb Services for the Aviation Market
ViaSatellite — 5:59 am ET (0959 GMT)
Debrief: Vulcan On Deck
Aviation Week — 5:56 am ET (0956 GMT)


about spacetoday.net   ·   info@spacetoday.net   ·   mailing list