720
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] Salvo@aussie.zone 10 points 1 year ago

Spoken like someone who thinks Pluto should still be considered a Planet.

But you are right, Jurassic Park would be a completely different movie if Genaro was eaten my something that looked like an oversized quail.

[-] name_NULL111653@pawb.social 8 points 1 year ago

Pluto will forever be a planet in our hearts...

[-] southsamurai@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 year ago
[-] LostXOR@kbin.social 8 points 1 year ago

It'll always be a planet in our hearts.

[-] Klear@sh.itjust.works 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

And what about Ceres and Eris then? Planets too?

[-] southsamurai@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 year ago

Yup!

Now, whether or not they meet a specific criteria for a specific standard used in a scientific field is not in debate. Obviously, the standard for what defines a planet in a given field of study is applicable in that field.

However, for the rest of us, we don't have to use that standard. See, using a language for something lile science is filled with this kind of thing when you use a living language that's why Latin is so often the default for situations where you need fixed definitions. Otherwise, you deal with this issue constantly.

Though, tbh, even that's no certain protection because people will borrow words, or misuse them just because we're essentially a bunch of parrots playing with sounds sometimes. Lol at what happened with words like idiot or moron. They used to have a fixed, certain meaning with a standard used to apply them. Now they're just insults.

The "planets" have existed in the public awareness with a much looser definition than what is used in scientific fields. Pretty much anything can be a planet in colloquial usage, so long as it orbits the sun. Now, I believe most people would insist on a lower size threshold where something is no longer a planet, but some other term. The problem is that there's not a consensus on that lower limit.

With ceres and eris in specific, most people that are aware they exist are gong to be into "space" in some way, maybe even professionally. That makes the usage of planet for them less common than for Pluto, but the more casual the interest in such things, the more likely they are to get lumped in as "the 10th planet" or 10th and 11th, depending on who is saying things.

But, for casual conversation, I'd say that all three are planets. I'd have to look up the standards again because I'm fucking old, but I would also be just fine with someone calling them dwarf planets, or planetoids, or whatever.

Seriously. Until someone is just outright ignoring common usage and making up definitions nobody else uses, this kind of thing is just part of the fun of being monkeys that make complex sounds. None of us are obligated to use jargon definitions in casual settings, and trying to force that is not only pointless, it's sometimes rude.

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

Everything's a planet!

[-] Draconic_NEO@mander.xyz 2 points 1 year ago

"Planet" in my book is anything that's too big to just be a large lumpy rock. Something with sufficient gravity to pull itself into the shape of a sphere.

The idea of planets needing to orbit in eliptical orbits on a plane, or clear their own paths is a bias from living in a stable planetary system, but much of the planetary systems and indeed much of the universe doesn't have the stability that exists in this local area, it's especially the case in younger planetary systems as well as much older ones.

Also many planets in the universe don't even have stars, they are rogue, scattered throughout the darkness between the stars.

[-] DroneRights@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago

It's starting to look like rogue planets are the more common ones and us stellar orbiters are the weirdos

[-] Draconic_NEO@mander.xyz 1 points 1 year ago

Just goes to show how much the universe is a chaotic and cruel place, hopefully we won't end up joining them in the cold dark void in our future.

[-] angrystego@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

I'm all for it, let's get more planets!

this post was submitted on 10 Nov 2023
720 points (97.1% liked)

Science Memes

11148 readers
2141 users here now

Welcome to c/science_memes @ Mander.xyz!

A place for majestic STEMLORD peacocking, as well as memes about the realities of working in a lab.



Rules

  1. Don't throw mud. Behave like an intellectual and remember the human.
  2. Keep it rooted (on topic).
  3. No spam.
  4. Infographics welcome, get schooled.

This is a science community. We use the Dawkins definition of meme.



Research Committee

Other Mander Communities

Science and Research

Biology and Life Sciences

Physical Sciences

Humanities and Social Sciences

Practical and Applied Sciences

Memes

Miscellaneous

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS