tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4672881018321440403.post6471077281415787234..comments2024-01-08T09:12:42.920-05:00Comments on SF and Nonsense: Rocky and giant and dwarf ... oh my!Edward M. Lernerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15620756142619513714noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4672881018321440403.post-12566722109019066092010-12-31T14:52:44.688-05:002010-12-31T14:52:44.688-05:00Once the Fleet of Worlds cut loose from its star, ...Once the Fleet of Worlds cut loose from its star, it (singly and in its several parts) failed the first test for a planet: orbiting a sun.Edward M. Lernerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15620756142619513714noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4672881018321440403.post-28664487919061398892010-12-31T13:43:35.343-05:002010-12-31T13:43:35.343-05:00I wonder if the fleet would still be classifiable ...I wonder if the fleet would still be classifiable as planets under this criteria. Technically they orbit around a common barycenter and would have to clear the objects in their orbital zone (each other) in order to satisfy the definition. I think the idea is enough to drive a puppeteer mad.<br />On the other hand you could argue that the fleet are a 5-ary planet, and that n-ary planets do not have to clear each other from their orbits. In that case the fleet could be classified as a 5-ary planet.<br />New Terra is going to be much tougher to classify.Eriknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4672881018321440403.post-24263930962570495572010-12-01T09:31:55.807-05:002010-12-01T09:31:55.807-05:00Goofy *is* a Disney name -- like (in one manner of...Goofy *is* a Disney name -- like (in one manner of speaking) Pluto. <br /><br />Persephone, being (in myth) Pluto's consort would make a lot of sense for a body near Pluto. IMO, Persephone would have been a better choice than Charon for Pluto's large moon.<br /><br />Curiously, the IAU never asks my opinion :-)<br /><br />- EdEdward M. Lernerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15620756142619513714noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4672881018321440403.post-80770264723970571262010-11-30T23:29:28.563-05:002010-11-30T23:29:28.563-05:00I still like "Persephone" as a name, per...I still like "Persephone" as a name, personally. And wasn't Goofy a Disney character? Haha.Thomas Maskahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10859040335143744370noreply@blogger.com