Author Topic: Welcome 'Sedna': The Tenth Planet!! (Read 2900 times)

Hope(N Forever) · « **on:** March 31, 2004, 07:11:39 AM »

In our astronomical history books, we learn that in February 18th, 1930, a planet we now know as Pluto was discovered by an American called Clyde W. Tombaugh. Ever since then, it was known as "the farthest celestial body in our Solar System."

Not anymore it is!!

Now, on the 15th of March 2004, NASA announced that there is a TENTH PLANET in our Solar System!! Actually, they have been suspecting this thing for quite a while now, and they have not confirmed that it is a planet yet (in fact, Pluto is not a planet either). All they know that they found by what is now rated as "the farthest celestial body in our Solar System."

They code-named this body 2003 VB12, but they unofficially named it Sedna, after the Inuit goddess...

By far, they know that Sedna is around 90 AU* away, and it is three-quarters the size of Pluto!!

Read more about Sedna here...

More Links:

-Space.com

-BBC News

Know more about Sedna, the goddess, here...

*AU (Astronomical Unit) is a scale used to measure distances in our Solar System; it is smaller than a Light Year. The AU is based on the distance between Earth and the Sun, which is 150 million Km (approx. 90 million miles). Thus, the distance between Earth and the Sun is exactly 1 AU.

I am a pure Super Mario lover!!

...and in no point in the future will he ever be abandonded by me!

I will even drawn the best Super Mario comics ever to exist!!

Forest Guy · « **Reply #1 on:** March 31, 2004, 03:01:31 PM »

Ah yes, I heard about that. Sounds pretty cool.

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MEGAß¥TE · « **Reply #2 on:** March 31, 2004, 03:17:50 PM »

Umm at least 3 other "planets" have been discovered since Pluto. Sedna just happens to be a bit larger than those other ones, but that doesn't make it any more the 10th planet than those others... some would demote Pluto instead.

Markio · « **Reply #3 on:** March 31, 2004, 07:04:13 PM »

Go whoever! I'm not sure if there's anything to add...

''Are spirits delicious?''

Trainman · « **Reply #4 on:** March 31, 2004, 08:13:49 PM »

Oh, you forgot to mention that it orbits the Sun every 10,00 years and has an atmosphere. Also, it is something caught in the gravity of the Sun in the Oort Cloud beyond Pluto. AND take Pluto's distance from the Sun and multiply it by three, and you have the distance from the Sun Sedna is. There are probably other things I have forgotten, but I'll remember them later.

Do you ever get so mad that you hit something, then when you hit whatever you were gonna hit, it hurts making you even MORE mad?

Insane Steve · « **Reply #5 on:** March 31, 2004, 09:22:27 PM »

Oh, great, this messes up my mnemonic for remembering the planets and their order from the sun.

My
Very
Eager
Mother
Just
Served
Us
Nine
Pizzas,

...

(Stupid!)

I STILL GOT IT

~I.S.~

Popple · « **Reply #6 on:** March 31, 2004, 10:33:04 PM »

By definition, Sedna isn't a planet, nor Pluto. I do something like this

My
Very
Eldery
Moth,
Jim,
Stung
Unduglating
Noodle-cake

I''ma go shower up.

Markio · « **Reply #7 on:** March 31, 2004, 10:59:12 PM »

My acronym works great:

Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Pluto

''Are spirits delicious?''

GiftedGirl · « **Reply #8 on:** April 08, 2004, 03:54:17 PM »

Pluto IS a planet!

--------------------
I''m Sonya! Sonya the hedgehog! I''m Sonic''s lesser known sister and I''m the keeper of the Plasma Emerald!

Popple · « **Reply #9 on:** April 08, 2004, 04:17:34 PM »

Direct quotes from the article: "We define a planet to be any body in the solar system that is more massive than the total mass of all of the other bodies in a similar orbit." "Pluto sits squarely in the Kuiper belt, yet is not more massive than the total of the other Kuiper belt objects. Thus, Pluto is no planet, just the largest object in its class." My case has just been rested.

Let me away from this boulder!

Trainman · « **Reply #10 on:** April 08, 2004, 08:27:48 PM »

Pluto was a found a named a planet in the 30s. Why would they name it if it wasn't a planet? Pluto was named after some kid winning the "Name the Planet" contest by popular vote.

Sedna is a planet; it is spherical and orbits the Sun. THAT is the definition of a planet, pretty much. Just because it's far away plays no part in it being or not being a planet, mkah?

I fully concur with Markio's "How to Remember the Planets Guide."

Also, in the "educated" can be substituted for "eager" in Steve's "Rememberance Guide," also.

You are the dumbest idiot.

MEGAß¥TE · « **Reply #11 on:** April 08, 2004, 09:33:06 PM »

1. Pluto was named a planet because they didn't know there were other objects out there like it.

2. Pluto was NOT named in a contest!

3. Since finding all of these other objects, astonomers haven't been able to decide on the definition of a planet, ie just because it is spherical might not necessarily make it a planet-- it has yet to be decided. Distance has nothing to do with it.

4. Take note that the asteroid Ceres was considered a planet until astronomers realized it was just part of the asteroid belt. The Kupier belt is just like a larger asteroid belt.

5. If you must have a mnemonic, you're forgetting Varuna, Quaoar, Ixion, 2004 DW and 2002 AW197, the other major Kupier Belt objects found before Sedna. Also, Pluto's moon Charon is half the size of Pluto, and about the size of the other objects I just mentioned.

Here's a list of the KBO's.

Edited by - MEGAß¥TE on 4/8/2004 8:42:21 PM

Forest Guy · « **Reply #12 on:** April 08, 2004, 09:58:55 PM »

Ooh, dissed and dismissed.

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