Posts Tagged ‘space dust’

Pluto is out, and Zena and Ceres are in. Well, almost. Now all three are out.

Recently, Michael Brown, an astronomer from Caltech, discovered what he thought was a new planet, which he called Zena. He presented his findings and submitted his studies to the 26th General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) who met last week, 20 26 August 2006 in Prague, Czechoslovakia to discuss this new discovery and to review the selection criteria for naming planets. Of the 2,700 delegates who attended the meeting only 720 were still in attendance at the end of the week. Only about 400 delegates were on hand the final day but only a handful of members were eligible to vote on a revised description of what constitutes a planet and Brown’s studies were accepted. They added Zena to the roster of the Suns planets (also knows as UB313, Zena is larger than Pluto). They also accepted a second nomination, Ceres.

Then suddenly, in a direct reversal of their previous decisions the IAU decided that the long-standing member planet, Pluto, no longer met the criteria to be a planet. Pluto was demoted to space dust. The two other small solar system bodies nominated, Zena and Ceres, were then summarily rejected.

The IAU also redefined the three criteria necessary to qualify an object as a planet.

1. A planet must be round in shape. What this means is that is planet must be large enough to have had its mass pulled into a round shape as the result of its own gravitational forces. It was also suggested, but not made part of the definition, that a planet must be at least 1000 kilometers in diameter.

2. Planets must have a defined, regular orbit around the Sun, and not be either stars themselves or satellites of other planets.

3. To be a planet a space object must dominate its own orbit and clear its own area of other smaller space objects.

A “dwarf planet” was defined as a celestial body that is in an orbit around the Sun, has sufficient mass for its own gravitational forces to assume a hydrostatic equilibrium or “nearly round” shape, has not cleared its orbital neighborhood of other space objects, and it is not a satellite.

The IAU also resolved that all other space objects, except satellites orbiting the Sun, shall be referred to collectively as “Small Solar-System Bodies”

The old mnemonic My very energetic mother just served us nine pizzas, by which millions of people learned to recite the planets, no longer applies. However, We do have a new one to help you remember the planets in the new line up.

My very Energetic Mother Just Served Us Noodles.

Here are some other, more original suggestions:

My very exhausted mother just sent us nachos

Make Very Extraordinary Meals of Jell-O, Strawberries, and Unsalted Nuts.

Just in case you may have forgotten, the names of the planets they are, listed in order of their distance from the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and the newly demoted “dwarf planet”, Pluto.

Try making up your own mnemonic and get the kids involved, too. This could very easily be made a part of one of your science lessons. But dont use Pluto, Zena, or Ceres in your new mnemonic. At least not for now, the IAU may change their minds at their next meeting in 2009.

Homeschool Science: Pluto, Zena, Ceres Astronomy

Author: John Finnigan
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Articles on astronomy appears all over the Internet and in magazines dedicated to the science and the hobby. New photos of space objects and new space missions result in articles. Discussion abounds about everything. Here are just a few.

Something as simple as bumpy space dust generated a great deal of interest and a lot of the articles. Why is that? Scientists have long known that hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe. However, larger molecules require that hydrogen bonds. Because of the cold in space, hydrogen needs a little push. It could be the bumpy surface of dust that helps in that process. Nobody thinks of dust being bumpy when they vacuum.

One of Saturn’s moons is known as the Death Star. It’s a huge crater that makes it look like the movie menace. In August 2008, Cassini spacecraft passed near the moon, Mimas. New photos and information were gathered. And, of course, many people read all about it. Scientists believe the mission will create new understanding as to the number of crater creating objects that pass near to Saturn. There’s still a lot to learn about traffic through the solar system, and how the giants Jupiter and Saturn help keep things clear.

Dark matter is something scientists have known about for years. It contributes to the expansion of the universe, but scientists don’t really know how… There was a plan to study distant supernovae to learn about dark matter. It’s important because about 70% of the stuff in the universe is dark matter.

Before our sun was really a star it was a condensing mass of space matter called a protosun. Many researchers, however wondered whether this proto-sun may have emitted useful heat or light or particles. Yes it did, says recent astronomy articles. New techniques have revealed that the proto-sun had a particle rich solar wind along with light and heat. So the sun helped create life before it ever became a sun.

For any astronomy enthusiast it’s important to keep updated.

Author: Shabnam Sultan
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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