As an astronomer, the question I hear the most is why isn’t Pluto a planet anymore? More than 10 years ago, astronomers famously voted to change Pluto’s classification . But the question still comes up.
When I am asked directly if I think Pluto is a planet, I tell everyone my answer is no. It all goes back to the origin of the word “planet.” It comes from the Greek phrase for “wandering stars.” Back in ancient times before the telescope was invented, the mathematician and astronomer Claudius Ptolemy called stars “fixed stars” to distinguish them from the seven wanderers that move across the sky in a very specific way.
Quite a lot has been going on:
Cheops satellite lifts off to study planets beyond solar system | Science | The Guardian
Europe's Cheops planet-hunting satellite has left Earth a day after its lift-off was delayed by a technical rocket glitch during the final countdown.
A 30cm telescope aboard has been designed to measure the density, composition, and size of numerous exoplanets, which orbit stars beyond our solar system.
The mission "represents a step towards better understanding the astrophysics of all these strange planets that we have discovered and which have no equivalent in our solar system", 2019 Nobel physics prize-winner Didier Queloz said.
Public Helps Name More Than 100 Exoplanets – Exoplanet Exploration: Planets Beyond our Solar
The planet named by those in the United States is Mulchatna, its host star will be called Nushagak. Nushagak is a river near Dillingham, Alaska, known for its wild salmon that sustain local indigenous communities. The Mulchatna name comes from a tributary of the Nushagak River. The star and planet, also known as HD 17156 b , are in the Cassiopeia constellation, 255 light-years away. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Today, more than 100 exoplanets and host stars got new names from the International Astronomical Union.
From 'Abol' to 'Yvaga': 224 Stars and Planets Get New Names for Year of Indigenous Languages |
What do Van Gogh's "Starry Night," traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremonies and a river in Alaska have in common? All are now commemorated in the solar systems around ours.
These declarations and hundreds more are the result of a campaign by the International Astronomical Union , which oversees the official names of all features and objects in space. The IAU wanted to mark 2019 as its 100th anniversary and the U.N.'s International Year of Indigenous Languages by allotting 112 exoplanets and the stars they orbit for naming by countries around the world.
While you're here, how about this:
Why some planets eat their own skies | University of Chicago News
For many years, for all we knew, our solar system was alone in the universe. Then better telescopes began to reveal a treasure trove of planets circling distant stars.
In 2014, NASA's Kepler Space Telescope handed scientists a smorgasbord of more than 700 brand-new distant planets to study—many of them unlike what we had previously seen. Instead of gas giants like Jupiter, which earlier surveys had picked up first because they are easier to see, these planets were smaller and mostly rock by mass.
Planetary confusion -- why astronomers keep changing what it means to be a planet
Associate Dean for Undergraduate Students and Teaching Professor of Astronomy & Astrophysics, Pennsylvania State University
Christopher Palma does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
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As an astronomer, the question I hear the most is why isn't Pluto a planet anymore? More than 10 years ago, astronomers famously voted to change Pluto's classification . But the question still comes up.
We need to stop billionaires from contaminating other planets | WIRED UK
The Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) has been concerned with the possibility of forward and backward contamination of bodies in the solar system, including Earth, since 1959, and has worked with the scientific community to establish guidelines for acceptable levels of microbial burden for spacecraft that depend upon their destinations. Article IX of the Outer Space Treaty , signed by the US in 1967, provided the legal basis for these guidelines.
The 15 Best Space Images Of 2019: From A Black Hole And A New Planet To A Dazzling Solar Eclipse
It's been a stunning year for space exploration. Yes, it was the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11, the first crewed moon landing, but so much more happened that increased our knowledge of the cosmos.
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The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) — a planet-scale array of eight ground-based radio telescopes ... [+] forged through international collaboration — was designed to capture images of a black hole. In coordinated press conferences across the globe, EHT researchers revealed that they succeeded, unveiling the first direct visual evidence of the supermassive black hole in the centre of Messier 87 and its shadow.
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