Hehe, my 1st contribution to this forum ... anyhoo ...
Here's the news story.
Now, I ask you, do you think that they'll consider Sedna a planet and our solar system has become 1 planet bigger ? Or ... do you think they'll say, no, and knock Pluto off as a planet as well and we'll end up w/ a smaller solar system ?
Now, before we go on, the definition of a planet is as follows "A nonluminous celestial body larger than an asteroid or comet, illuminated by light from a star, such as the sun, around which it revolves." Now, clearly, Sedna fits into this category. However, some would argue that an atmosphere must also be present, and from what I remember in school, Pluto does have existance of a very thin atmosphere. Now, Sedna is clearly too far away for us to do in depth studying anytime soon as it's 3x further than Pluto. Also, if they consider Sedna as a planet, how many more do you think would show up in the near future ? Either way, it looks like our solar system is about to be redefined. Who wants to start taking bets as to the outcome of this soon to be huge debate in the astronomical world ? *snickers*
