And a new one...Haumea declared a Dwarf Planet

Did we suddenly run out of European deities? All the new (dwarf) planets are being named by some obscure pantheon. Or is it some kind of rule that only "real" planets get Roman/Greek names?
 
Jarvitä said:
Did we suddenly run out of European deities? All the new (dwarf) planets are being named by some obscure pantheon. Or is it some kind of rule that only "real" planets get Roman/Greek names?
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The rule is: The names for Dwarf planets in the Kuiper Belt are deities related to creation. Eris already exists. ;)
 
thats a weird shape for a Planet
 
Figured this one was gonna be declared a Dwarf Planet. Sedna's next to be named a Dwarf Planet.
 
Not spherical? I see it didn't take long to lower standards. Poor Pluto: don't worry, we're comin' to see you in a few years now.
 
Let me see if I've got this right. In the Dwarf Planet category right now we've got
Pallas
Pluto
Eris
MakeMake
Haumea

Did I miss any?

Andy44 said:
Not spherical? I see it didn't take long to lower standards.
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You KNOW you've reached middle age when you catch yourself grumbling about declining standards in dwarf planet recognition. "Dwarf planets warn't like that in my day! (mutter, mutter)"
 
SiberianTiger said:
Why don't they name one Rod then? The Slavs will object! ;)
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Rod?

Rod%201.JPG
 
Belisarius said:
Let me see if I've got this right. In the Dwarf Planet category right now we've got
Pallas
Pluto
Eris
MakeMake
Haumea

Did I miss any?
Click to expand...

The closest one. Ceres. Queen of the asteroid belt.

240px-Ceres_optimized.jpg


To me Ceres is the most interesting of the dwarf planets. Close enough to recieve solar heating and significant rocky/metallic composition.
 
Well, I was wrong to include Pallas, she didn't make it. Pity, she's my favourite classical deity.

The IAU recognises the following

Ceres – discovered on January 1, 1801 (45 years before Neptune), considered a planet for half a century before reclassification as an asteroid. Classified as a dwarf planet on September 13, 2006.
Pluto – discovered on February 18, 1930, classified as a planet for 76 years. Reclassified as a dwarf planet on August 24, 2006.
Eris – discovered on October 21, 2003. Called the "tenth planet" in media reports. Accepted as a dwarf planet on September 13, 2006.
Makemake – discovered on March 31, 2005. Accepted as a dwarf planet on July 11, 2008.
Haumea – discovered on 2004 December 28. Accepted as a dwarf planet on September 17, 2008.

Nice picture of the relative sizes of these bodies in the Wiki article on dwarf planets

449px-TheTransneptunians_Size_Albedo_Color.svg.png


Seems like, if we make Makemake make the grade, then Sedna should make it too.
 
Not so, Tiger, old pal. The IAU definition of dwarf planet has nothing to say about inclination or eccentricity:

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) shape, (c) has not cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit, and (d) is not a satellite.
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(From the IAU definition, quoted in the Wiki article above)

High eccentricity and inclination values don't make any difference.

Anyway, making a little comparison here, Pluto has 17º inc, Haumea and Makemake 28º and Eris a whopping 44º. Sedna has only 12º inc.

OK, Sedna is much more eccentric in orbit than the others at 0.85, with Eris at 0.44 and Pluto at 0.25. (Haumea and Makemake are under 0.2)

But there's nothing wrong with a little eccentricity. Some of the finest people I know are highly eccentric. I'm sure the same applies to planetoids.
 
Belisarius said:
Anyway, making a little comparison here, Pluto has 17º inc, Haumea and Makemake 28º and Eris a whopping 44º. Sedna has only 12º inc.

OK, Sedna is much more eccentric in orbit than the others at 0.85, with Eris at 0.44 and Pluto at 0.25. (Haumea and Makemake are under 0.2)

But there's nothing wrong with a little eccentricity. Some of the finest people I know are highly eccentric. I'm sure the same applies to planetoids.
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Okay, I take back my words about high inclination, but its aphelion lays at 975 AU. I think there's no reliable way yet to confirm that Sedna has "cleared its orbit environment" of the bodies whose orbits may lay that far. It's an accident that Sedna itself got discovered at all: it just happened to be near its perihelion once in a 12 thousand years - at the moment we have already developed big telescopes and did not vanquish ourselves yet. :suicide:
 
SiberianTiger said:
Its aphelion lays at 975 AU. I think there's no reliable way yet to confirm that Sedna has "cleared its orbit environment" of the bodies whose orbits may lay that far.
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Good point. It just occured to me that we have a very good opportunity to send a pretty big and powerful probe that far out by slingshotting a Topaz-equipped machine to land on, or orbit, Sedna. Then it can hitch a free ride out to the apihelion at 975 AU.

OK, it's slow. It would take thousands of years. But it's pretty cost effective.
 
Belisarius said:
Good point. It just occured to me that we have a very good opportunity to send a pretty big and powerful probe that far out by slingshotting a Topaz-equipped machine to land on, or orbit, Sedna. Then it can hitch a free ride out to the apihelion at 975 AU.

OK, it's slow. It would take thousands of years. But it's pretty cost effective.
Click to expand...

Umm, why do you think such a probe would need a planetoid to travel? It can get there much faster on its own, given enough power and propellant. The only point of orbiting Sedna all the way would be tracking of any changes on its surface, a Rosetta-like mission.
 
Forget it, it's a wacky idea caused by lack of caffeine. Just off to get another cup.
 
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