Pluto always was the bastard stepchild of the solar system.

Maybe one of you can answer this question for me: Is it possible that there are planets that circle the sun vertically?

Here's the resolution:

quote:

RESOLUTIONS Resolution 5A is the principal definition for the IAU usage of "planet" and related terms. Resolution 5B adds the word "classical" to the collective name of the eight planets Mercury through Neptune. Resolution 6A creates for IAU usage a new class of objects, for which Pluto is the prototype. Resolution 6B introduces the name "plutonian objects" for this class. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines "plutonian" as: Main Entry: plu • to • ni • an Pronunciation: plü-'tO-nE-&n Function: adjective Usage: often capitalized : of, relating to, or characteristic of Pluto or the lower world After having received inputs from many sides -- especially the geological community -- the term "Pluton" is no longer being considered. IAU Resolution: Definition of a Planet in the Solar System Contemporary observations are changing our understanding of planetary systems, and it is important that our nomenclature for objects reflect our current understanding. This applies, in particular, to the designation 'planets'. The word 'planet' originally described 'wanderers' that were known only as moving lights in the sky. Recent discoveries lead us to create a new definition, which we can make using currently available scientific information. RESOLUTION 5A The IAU therefore resolves that planets and other bodies in our Solar System be defined into three distinct categories in the following way: (1) A planet1 is a celestial body that (a) is in orbit around the Sun, (b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape, and (c) has cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit. (2) A dwarf planet is a celestial body that (a) is in orbit around the Sun, (b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape2, (c) has not cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit, and (d) is not a satellite. (3) All other objects3 orbiting the Sun shall be referred to collectively as "Small Solar System Bodies". 1The eight planets are: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. 2An IAU process will be established to assign borderline objects into either dwarf planet and other categories. 3These currently include most of the Solar System asteroids, most Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs), comets, and other small bodies. RESOLUTION 5B Insert the word "classical" before the word "planet" in Resolution 5A, Section (1), and footnote 1. Thus reading: (1) A classical planet1 is a celestial body . . . and 1The eight classical planets are: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. IAU Resolution: Pluto RESOLUTION 6A The IAU further resolves: Pluto is a dwarf planet by the above definition and is recognized as the prototype of a new category of trans-Neptunian objects. RESOLUTION 6B The following sentence is added to Resolution 6A: This category is to be called "plutonian objects."

http://www.iau2006.org/mirror/www.i...0602/index.html

Pluto only got shafted because of its eccentric orbit, which seems a bit silly to me because most of the extrasolar planets we've discoved also have an eccentric orbit. According to this definition, a body 10x the size of Jupiter can't be considered a planet if its orbit intersects the orbit of some other body!

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edit: cheers renegade.

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quote:

Originally posted by metalgearsolid Maybe one of you can answer this question for me: Is it possible that there are planets that circle the sun vertically?

from which perspective

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quote:

Originally posted by metalgearsolid Maybe one of you can answer this question for me: Is it possible that there are planets that circle the sun vertically?

Very unlikely. For two reasons.

1.) We probably would have detected it by now.

2.) The solar system originated through an initial cloud of gaseous matter. The center of it condensed and became the sun, while the outer regions of the cloud became more and more attracted to that massive sun at the center. This caused the whole cloud to spin, faster and faster, naturally flattening the cloud out into a disk. Out of that flat, rotating disk originated the planets. That's why they're all orbitting in one plane and one direction.

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Forerunners - Dragonfly (Stan Void Remix ) [ Solaris ] (Out Soon)
Stan Void - Transience [ Solaris ] (Out December 2008)
Stan Void - When You Know / Come Play [ Real Music ]
Stan Void - Montavo / A Moment's Definition [ Somatic Sense Vision ]

1)"Vertical" is irrelevant in space. I think the way to pose that question would be to ask if there are planets that orbit the sun on a perpendicular plane relative to the other planets.

2)George Bush doesn't care about Pluto. Unless of course we're talking about PLUTO!

George Bush doesn't care about black holes.

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Arpi - Somewhere Else (Stan Void Remix ) [ Neuroscience ] (Out Now)
Forerunners - Dragonfly (Stan Void Remix ) [ Solaris ] (Out Soon)
Stan Void - Transience [ Solaris ] (Out December 2008)
Stan Void - When You Know / Come Play [ Real Music ]
Stan Void - Montavo / A Moment's Definition [ Somatic Sense Vision ]

Can't they grandfather clause it?

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I miss it already

i never knew enough about it to be yay or nay, but i do think its good we now have a working definition. id prefer pluto to be in or out, instead of this 50-50 debate thats been occuring.

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