Comments on: Brain Game: R.I.P. Pluto

By: Roberto

Roberto — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 05:58:45 +0000

Finally I got one, and it was easy. No research needed.

By: Kari

Kari — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 02:14:21 +0000

I didn’t do to well. Pluto may no longer be classified as a planet by scienctists but I still consider it a planet.

By: Sandy Wood

Sandy Wood — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:19:22 +0000

A Brain Game is just a Brain Game and not a political statement.

Please don’t call my work “misleading” because I did or did not include Pluto. I simply used the list of planets as described in the new 2010 almanac.

Pluto is Pluto, and shall remain so, whether we call it a planet, a dwarf planet, or a cheeseburger.

By: CJ

CJ — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:18:58 +0000

Wait a minute you’re telling me that scientists arent sure what they are talking about, and I know doctors dont know anything, seems like I need to start going to church.

By: Laurel Kornfeld

Laurel Kornfeld — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 22:18:20 +0000

This brain game is very misleading. Please reconsider and do not blindly accept the controversial demotion of Pluto by only four percent of the IAU, most of whom are not planetary scientists. Their decision was immediately opposed in a formal petition by hundreds of professional astronomers led by Dr. Alan Stern, Principal Investigator of NASAâ€™s New Horizons mission to Pluto. One reason the IAU definition makes no sense is it says dwarf planets are not planets at all! That is like saying a grizzly bear is not a bear, and it is inconsistent with the use of the term â€œdwarfâ€ in astronomy, where dwarf stars are still stars, and dwarf galaxies are still galaxies. Also, the IAU definition classifies objects solely by where they are while ignoring what they are. If Earth were in Plutoâ€™s orbit, according to the IAU definition, it would not be a planet either. A definition that takes the same object and makes it a planet in one location and not a planet in another is essentially useless. Pluto is a planet because it is spherical, meaning it is large enough to be pulled into a round shape by its own gravity–a state known as hydrostatic equilibrium and characteristic of planets, not of shapeless asteroids held together by chemical bonds. These reasons are why many astronomers, lay people, and educators are either ignoring the demotion entirely or working to get it overturned. Using the broader planet definition preferred by Stern and others gives our solar system 13 planets and counting: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Ceres, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Haumea, Makemake, and Eris.

Kids deserve to learn that there are still two sides to this ongoing debate.

By: Nerak

Nerak — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:47:33 +0000

Got it. Only had to double-check on a couple facts that were a little fuzzy in my memory.

By: Fran

Fran — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:56:54 +0000

I feel smart…yea me!

By: Allen

Allen — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:06:36 +0000

Got it in just a few seconds. Really it was a matter of how fast I wrote it down to parse it out. Nice quiz.

By: Lugh

Lugh — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:40:41 +0000

Heh. I almost got stumped separating Jane and Judy. Until I realized that Venus couldn’t be smaller than Venus…. *d’oh*

I had to look up the relative sizes of the planets (I couldn’t remember if Mars was bigger than Venus) and the moons (I had no idea how many moons Uranus and Neptune had).

This was a fantastic puzzle!

By: Heather

Heather — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:17:01 +0000

Woohoo!! I finally got one.