Richie Freebird Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 Some pretty cool new findings about Mercury in the BBC news this morning, including a cool 3D colour map of the planet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richie Freebird Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 Smallest exoplanet yet discovered orbiting Kepler 37. Â Not within the star Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandingo's Donger Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 My first thoughts on the subject are that it really doesn't matter what we call them, they're there and its just a name. Does it really matter if we have to call Eris and the like planets, whether we have 13 planets, 8 planets and 5 dwarf planets or 13 big bits of rock and gas? Â But then i guess it does, everything needs classification, it just makes things easier. Don't see why some people would get so upset over these things, just appreciate the awesomeness of discovering new worlds which surely one day will lead to extra terrestrial life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghostface1982 Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 Smallest exoplanet yet discovered orbiting Kepler 37. Not within the star Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Coconut Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 I thought Pluto was declassified simply because larger objects were found further out. There have since been further discoveries and explanations as to why it's not a planet but they weren't the cause of the change, as far as I remember. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richie Freebird Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 I thought Pluto was declassified simply because larger objects were found further out. There have since been further discoveries and explanations as to why it's not a planet but they weren't the cause of the change, as far as I remember. Kind of right, but so is Ghostface. The discovery of Eris in 2005 and it's initial presentation by NASA as the 10th planet caused the International Astronomical Union to come up with criteria that had to be met to be classified as a planet, to stop every little rock in the solar system from gaining planetary status. When these criteria were formed, Pluto did not meet them, because (as Ghostface said) the gravity from the planet wasn't sufficient to "clear the neighborhood" of objects immediately around itself. Eris is actually bigger than Pluto too, and it didn't meet the planetary classification criteria either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Coconut Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 International Astrological Union Thank God that's just a typo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Carbomb Posted February 22, 2013 Paid Members Share Posted February 22, 2013 "Following various debates on the current state of divination, and after numerous consultations of the Major Arcana, we have decided to downgrade Pisces from its status as a sign, and have re-classified it as a minor constellation which only affects your love life and whether or not that bird you fingered behind Mecca Bingo is pregnant." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richie Freebird Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Fucking hell. I don't think one facepalm is enough to cover that blunder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandingo's Donger Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Want to spend 99 cents to suggest a name for a planet?  you can here  Its not actually official but they will pass the most popular ones on to people responsible for naming new found planets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Coconut Posted April 15, 2013 Share Posted April 15, 2013 Did anybody else manage to catch a glimpse of PanSTARRS while it was visible? I got it with my binoculars on just about the last day it was still possible to see it, thanks to the weather. Had absolutely no luck with my scope though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Kookoocachu Posted April 15, 2013 Paid Members Share Posted April 15, 2013 Did anybody else manage to catch a glimpse of PanSTARRS while it was visible? I got it with my binoculars on just about the last day it was still possible to see it, thanks to the weather. Had absolutely no luck with my scope though. Complete overcast here so other people pictures had to do! Â Yeah should have asked my question in here really, so again, Â Does anyone know anyone with a 2nd hand Coronado PST for sale? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallicks Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 I'd never heard of the Wow! signal before. Incredible stuff! Wiki page led me to the Arecibo message, which seems like a good idea until you find that the group of stars they aimed the signal at won't be there when the message "arrives". Think harder, lads! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richie Freebird Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 Most distant galaxy yet discovered   30 billion light-years away. The head researcher is called Prof Finkelstein. That's a proper science name, that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Kookoocachu Posted October 24, 2013 Paid Members Share Posted October 24, 2013 Anyone going to any of the astronomy talks and lectures at Oxford? Landmarks in Cosmic Science (Including the latest discoveries) is on Nov 23rd and costs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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