Astronomers find new planet in Sol

[CJBurgandy]

My vote on a name would have been for Krypton... <_< >_> <_<




I read far too many comics.

[Gengar003]

*sigh* and since i hadn't heard the term "heliosheath" before that article, i'd been spared the thoguht of bad astronomy porn about the Heliopause coming out of the heliosheath to thrust off into the bow shock of the universe. until now, of course.

*quietly giggles for some time*

[Gengar003]

*sigh* and since i hadn't heard the term "heliosheath" before that article, i'd been spared the thoguht of bad astronomy porn about the Heliopause coming out of the heliosheath to thrust off into the bow shock of the universe. until now, of course.

*quietly giggles for some time*

[Captain Tylor]

I'd really prefer "Woden" but we're all Greek. So, I suggest either "Sulis Minerva" or Juno, since it will look both to our sun and out to the galaxy.

[Cuteswan]

The reason that people want to know if it's a planet is because little kids will have to memorize it's name.

You're not so far off. What will the astrologers have to change in hundreds of years of literature if we suddenly have a new planet? It may not be as bad as Copernicus had it, but people are resistant to change.

Also, I just heard that the inhabitants of Sedna have declared all bodies within Neptune's orbit to be too close to the sun to consider a stable planet. Okay, my Sednian is a bit rusty.

Seriously, considering that in the past decade we've detected so many extrasolar planets in configurations so vastly different from our neighborhood that may want to be a bit more open-minded when it comes to what constitutes a planet. Using distance, or "observability," seems a bit like saying, "Only people I see are actually people." Besides distance, how about roundness, consistent rotation, geologic activity, the presence of satellites, etc.? Then again, I think it would be pretty cool to have a new "little sister" planet.

[rant]Also, why is it that just about every other moon in the solar system has its own name but ours is just called "the Moon?" From now on, I'm calling it Luna and making it hang out with semi-dorky blonde fifteen-year-old Japanese girls.[/rant]

BTW, in the Wiki heliopause definition, why are the terms supersonic and subsonic -- pretty much Earth-based terms -- used for outer space?

[Squidflakes]

BTW, in the Wiki heliopause definition, why are the terms supersonic and subsonic -- pretty much Earth-based terms -- used for outer space?

Cause the speed of sound at sea level in the earths atmosphere is a well known constant.
I don't know what the fuck I'm talking about anymore.. man.. its been a while since my OMGSPACESTUFF! days.. I think all that information is being replaced by carnal tentacle knowledge. So, in the future, I'm going to shut my damn mouth and defer to eosha

[Eosha]

BTW, in the Wiki heliopause definition, why are the terms supersonic and subsonic -- pretty much Earth-based terms -- used for outer space?

Because even in space, there is always gas. Thin, almost nonexistent gas, but it's there. And whenever there is a gas, there is a certain speed at which pressure variations move through that gas, the sound speed. It's determined by pressure, temperature, etc. The point at which the solar wind drops below that speed is the termination shock. It's very similar to a sonic boom here on earth, which happens when a plane crosses the speed of sound.

[Cuteswan]

Oh, so it's sonic in the speed of sound in near-but-not-quite-vacuum. I'm glad it's not quite so Earth-centric as I mistakenly believed.

The next question is how much solar and cosmic radiation do planets outside of the HP and TS get and is it enough to stop life from forming if the planet/object doesn't have an active magnetic field or some other way to stop it. (Of course, there could also be life that thrives on the radiation that kills us, I suppose.)

[Tha_Pig]

Its not a planet.

Its a Space Station.

[Honor]

Well... if they *don't* name it after a Greek/Roman god... then it'll be one of two planets that weren't (earth and... Xena/Ghastly/Yuggoth/Urethra)

Earth is the roman name for terra i belive...though i could be wrong.

Well... You're kinda sorta close. Earth is a word of germanic origin, Terra is the Latin word, but it doesn't reference a mytholigical figure. It just means "earth" (in the land or dirt sense).

[Major Maxillary]

Well... if they *don't* name it after a Greek/Roman god... then it'll be one of two planets that weren't (earth and... Xena/Ghastly/Yuggoth/Urethra)

Earth is the roman name for terra i belive...though i could be wrong.

Well... You're kinda sorta close. Earth is a word of germanic origin, Terra is the Latin word, but it doesn't reference a mytholigical figure. It just means "earth" (in the land or dirt sense).

i knew i was off. thanks for the clarification.

i thought that there was some deity associated with the eart... maybe it's just some plaque i saw a while bake in someone's house.

[Honor]

I think you may be thinking of Gaia... Who was the Greek Goddess the earth.

I should note here that I have, in fact, seen sources referencing "Terra" as the Roman name for Gaia, translated as if it were intended to be personified, perhaps even as a goddess or pseudo-goddess... But the linguistic sources on Latin pretty much always define "terra" as roman for soil, dirt, territory, land, or a (generic) country (as we might say "throughout the land").



"After Chaos, when the world acquired three elements and the whole structure shifted to new forms, earth subsided with its weight and dragged the seas [Pontos] down, but lightness lifted the heavens [Ouranos] up high. The sun, too, jumped out, not chained by gravity, and the stars, and you horses of the moon. Terra [Ge the Earth] for a long time did not yield to Caelus [Ouranos the Heaven]. Nor Stars to Phoebus [Helios the Sun]. All rank was equal." - Ovid, Fasti 5.9