Help Astronomers Name Pluto’s Tiniest Moons

"It won’t be long before Pluto’s smallest
moons, now called P4 and P5, are given
names worthy of their association with
the god of the underworld. And you will
have a chance to vote for what you think
the planetary runt’s tiniest satellites
should be called.

“I really want this to be something the
whole world can be involved in,” said ace
moon-finder Mark Showalter, an
astronomer at the SETI Institute.

Showalter and his colleagues have
designed a website, translated into 12
languages, that you can use to submit
votes for your favorite names. For two
weeks starting today, anyone with an
internet connection can choose from
among a dozen names suggested by
the team."

See:

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/20...tiniest-moons/

Leviathan and Behemoth


On Feb 11, 12:28*pm, wrote:

"It won’t be long before Pluto’s smallest
moons, now called P4 and P5, are given
names worthy of their association with
the god of the underworld. And you will
have a chance to vote for what you think
the planetary runt’s tiniest satellites
should be called.

“I really want this to be something the
whole world can be involved in,” said ace
moon-finder Mark Showalter, an
astronomer at the SETI Institute.

Showalter and his colleagues have
designed a website, translated into 12
languages, that you can use to submit
votes for your favorite names. For two
weeks starting today, anyone with an
internet connection can choose from
among a dozen names suggested by
the team."

See:

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/20...tiniest-moons/

On Monday, February 11, 2013 9:28:48 AM UTC-8, wrote:
"It won’t be long before Pluto’s smallest

moons, now called P4 and P5, are given

names worthy of their association with

the god of the underworld. And you will

have a chance to vote for what you think

the planetary runt’s tiniest satellites

should be called.



“I really want this to be something the

whole world can be involved in,” said ace

moon-finder Mark Showalter, an

astronomer at the SETI Institute.



Showalter and his colleagues have

designed a website, translated into 12

languages, that you can use to submit

votes for your favorite names. For two

weeks starting today, anyone with an

internet connection can choose from

among a dozen names suggested by

the team."



See:



http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/20...tiniest-moons/

Guth and Fred or Brad and McCall

...........Trig

On Feb 12, 7:57*pm, Nun Giver wrote:
On Monday, February 11, 2013 9:28:48 AM UTC-8, wrote:
"It won’t be long before Pluto’s smallest

moons, now called P4 and P5, are given

names worthy of their association with

the god of the underworld. And you will

have a chance to vote for what you think

the planetary runt’s tiniest satellites

should be called.

“I really want this to be something the

whole world can be involved in,” said ace

moon-finder Mark Showalter, an

astronomer at the SETI Institute.

Showalter and his colleagues have

designed a website, translated into 12

languages, that you can use to submit

votes for your favorite names. For two

weeks starting today, anyone with an

internet connection can choose from

among a dozen names suggested by

the team."

See:

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/20...tiniest-moons/

Guth and Fred or Brad and McCall

..........Trig

Bob & Rose, me and my GF

Molly & Twx, our dogs

I refuse to be involved with anything the IAU does until it admits that
it has no power to change the meanings of everyday English words, and
that Pluto therefore remains a "planet", even if it is not in the same
subcategory of planets as the other planets.

Sylvia.

On 2/12/2013 7:57 PM, Nun Giver wrote:


Guth and Fred or Brad and McCall

..........Trig


Save those names for subatomic particles that appear in virtual pairs.

For example; you'll never see a mono-Haller without an accompanying McCall.

;-)

Dave

Sorry Fred couldn't resist.

On 2/14/2013 3:34 AM, Sylvia Else wrote:
I refuse to be involved with anything the IAU does until it admits that
it has no power to change the meanings of everyday English words, and
that Pluto therefore remains a "planet", even if it is not in the same
subcategory of planets as the other planets.

Sylvia.

If you can convince Pluto to clean up its act (er I mean orbit) its back
in...

http://www.universetoday.com/13573/w...nger-a-planet/

See Req. #3....

Dave

On 15/02/2013 5:14 AM, David Spain wrote:
On 2/14/2013 3:34 AM, Sylvia Else wrote:
I refuse to be involved with anything the IAU does until it admits that
it has no power to change the meanings of everyday English words, and
that Pluto therefore remains a "planet", even if it is not in the same
subcategory of planets as the other planets.

Sylvia.

If you can convince Pluto to clean up its act (er I mean orbit) its back
in...

http://www.universetoday.com/13573/w...nger-a-planet/

See Req. #3....

Dave



That rather misses the point. The English word "planet" has a meaning
that it acquired through usage over centuries. Pluto fitted that meaning
when it was discovered.

The IAU can introduce any kind of classification it likes, but what it
cannot do is change the meaning of English words. Thus the test of
whether something is a planet is whether that something fits the
everyday meaning of the English word "planet", not whether it fits some
criterion laid down by the IAU.

Sylvia.

On 2/14/2013 8:32 PM, Sylvia Else wrote:

That rather misses the point. The English word "planet" has a meaning
that it acquired through usage over centuries. Pluto fitted that meaning
when it was discovered.

The IAU can introduce any kind of classification it likes, but what it
cannot do is change the meaning of English words. Thus the test of
whether something is a planet is whether that something fits the
everyday meaning of the English word "planet", not whether it fits some
criterion laid down by the IAU.

Sylvia.

Sorry Sylvia, but poor old Ceres got the same treatment as Pluto almost
100 years before the IAU came into existence and it's not even a Kuiper
Belt object! And yet nobody's complaining that we should have 10 planets
restored to our Solar System!

And if you're going to admit Pluto you have put in the even bigger Eris!

Dave

On 15/02/2013 12:53 PM, David Spain wrote:
On 2/14/2013 8:32 PM, Sylvia Else wrote:

That rather misses the point. The English word "planet" has a meaning
that it acquired through usage over centuries. Pluto fitted that meaning
when it was discovered.

The IAU can introduce any kind of classification it likes, but what it
cannot do is change the meaning of English words. Thus the test of
whether something is a planet is whether that something fits the
everyday meaning of the English word "planet", not whether it fits some
criterion laid down by the IAU.

Sylvia.

Sorry Sylvia, but poor old Ceres got the same treatment as Pluto almost
100 years before the IAU came into existence and it's not even a Kuiper
Belt object! And yet nobody's complaining that we should have 10 planets
restored to our Solar System!

And if you're going to admit Pluto you have put in the even bigger Eris!


Thing is, the word "planet" never did have a clear cut definition. Its
meaning was always vague. Although it derives from a word meaning
"wanderer", in the context of the Solar System, planet has long meant an
object in the set Mars, Venus, Earth, ..., Neptune, Pluto. The answer
the question "Is X a planet" pretty much amounted to asking whether X is
a member of that set, particularly as no planet candidate objects were
known outside the solar system for most of that time.

One might argue that Pluto should never have been added to the set in
the first place, but it was, and for a human life-span its presence
wasn't disputed. Deeming it removed in 2006 amounted to changing the set
that constituted the meaning of the word "planet". This was not within
the power of the IAU. What the IAU should have done was define planet
categories, but left the word itself alone.

Sylvia.