Associated Press) – Astronomers are proposing to revise textbooks to state that our solar system has 12 planets rather than the nine that generations of kids have remembered.
Under a draft resolution to be formally presented Wednesday to the International Astronomical Union, the arbitrator of what is and isn’t a planet, Pluto would remain a planet, and its largest moon, as well as two other heavenly entities, would enter Earth’s neighborhood.
Richard Binzel, a professor of planetary science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, joked, “Yes, Virginia, Pluto is a planet.”
However, before voting on the resolution next week, Binzel and the other almost 2,500 scientists from 75 countries meeting in Prague to hash out a global definition of a planet will attend two brainstorming sessions. The draft, however, comes from the IAU’s executive committee, which only submits suggestions that are expected to receive two-thirds of the group’s approval.
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Ceres, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Charon, and 2003 UB313 would be the 12 planets if the resolution is passed.
Aside from restoring Pluto’s status as a planet, the new lineup would include 2003 UB313, the solar system’s farthest-known object and called Xena; Pluto’s largest moon, Charon; and the asteroid Ceres, which was a planet in the 1800s before being demoted.
The panel also proposed a new category of planets known as “plutons,” which refers to Pluto-like objects found in the Kuiper Belt, a mysterious, disc-shaped zone beyond Neptune that is home to thousands of comets and planetary objects. Pluto would be a pluton, as would Charon and 2003 UB313, two of the prospective entrants.
Astronomers were also asked to stop using the word “minorplanets,” which has been used to designate asteroids, comets, and other non-planetary objects for a long time. Instead, they’d be referred to as “small solar system bodies” as a group.
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Ceres, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Charon, and the provisionally called 2003 UB313 would be the 12 planets in our solar system listed in order of their proximity to the sun if the resolution is passed. It was named Xena by its discoverer, Michael Brown of the California Institute of Technology, after the TV warrior princess, although the panel predicted that it would be renamed later.
Publishers would be forced to update encyclopedias and school textbooks, and primary school teachers would have to rearrange the planet mobiles hanging from classroom ceilings as a result of the galactic shift. Astrologers that make forecasts based on the classic nine may have to change their formulas outside of the sphere of science.
Even if scientists vote on Aug. 24 to formally lengthen the list of planets, it’s unlikely to stay that way for long: The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has a “watchlist” of at least a dozen other prospective planet candidates that could become planets once more information about their sizes and orbits is available.
“The solar system is a middle-aged star, and like other middle-aged things, its waistline is expanding,” said Jack Horkheimer, director of the Miami Space Transit Planetarium and host of the public television show Stargazer.
Pluto’s opponents may still be spoiling for a fight, despite the fact that it was just proclaimed a planet in 1930. The moon is bigger than 2003 UB313(Xena), which is around 70 miles broader.
Pluto, on the other hand, matches the IAU’s proposed revised definition of aplanet, which includes any spherical object with a diameter greater than 800 kilometers (almost 500 miles) that circles the sun and has a mass around one-fifth that of Earth. If moons and asteroids pass those basic tests, they will be accepted.
Roundness is important because it signifies that an entity has enough self-gravity to draw itself into a spherical shape, according to scientists. The moon, on the other hand, would not qualify because the two entities’ common center of gravity is below the Earth’s surface.
“It’s likely that many were wondering if Rhode Island might be next if Pluto was taken away.” Binzel made a remark. “As many astronomers as there are opinions regarding Pluto. Pluto, on the other hand, has gravity on its side. Pluto makes it by a long margin, according to the physics of our proposed definition.”
The proposed definition, which took two years to complete, was an attempt to reach a cosmic consensus and put an end to decades of debate, according to IAU President Ronald D. Ekers. He stated that “we don’t want an American version, a European version, and a Japanese version” of what constitutes a planet.
The new guidelines, according to Neil deGrasse Tyson, director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History in New York – who claims he has been miscast as a “Pluto-hater” because Pluto was excluded from a solar system exhibit – will clear up the fuzzier aspects of the Milky Way.
“We have an unambiguous definition for the first time since ancient Greece,” he remarked. “Now, when a possible planet is disputed, the answer can be quick and unambiguous.”
In This Article...
In astrology, what are the nine planets and their characteristics?
In Jyotish or Vedic Astrology, the chart is analyzed using nine Grahas (planets):
- The Sun is a powerful force (Surya or Ravi)
- the moon (Chandra Sandu)
- Mars is a planet in the Solar System (Mangal or Kuja)
- Jupiter is a planet in the solar system (Guru or Brhaspathi)
- Venus is the goddess of love (Shukra or Sikuru)
- Saturn is a planet in the solar system (Shani or Senasuru)
- Lunar Node in the North (Rahu)
- Lunar Node in the South (Ketu)
The Sanskrit term “Graha” is frequently confused with the English word “planet.” This is a fairly crude translation that obscures the word’s true meaning. The term “graha” alludes to a being with the ability to “seize, lay hold of, or grip.” As a result, Graha means to comprehend or take hold of the meaning that the planets possess. This connotation is linked to the nakshatras (also known as moon mansions, or a 27-fold split of the zodiac), which are defined in similar terms.
Graha thus extends beyond the concept of a planet to include the power of celestial events to impact or forecast happenings on Earth. Because this relationship has no known physical basis, astrology is not accepted by the scientific community. We prefer the name Graha to planet because it communicates a more profound connotation. Furthermore, using the phrase planet isn’t technically correct. Surya / Ravi (the Sun), Chandra / Sandu (the Moon), Mangal / Kuja (Mars), Budha (Mercury), Guru / Brahpathi (Jupiter), Shukra / Sikuru (Venus), Shani / Senasuru (Saturn), Rahu (Northern lunar node), and Ketu (Southern lunar node) are the nine Grahas (Planets) (Southern lunar node). The Sun is a star rather than a planet. Rahu and Ketu are not planets, and they aren’t even physical beings.
According to their general auspicious and inauspicious tendencies, the Grahas are classified into two groups. Saumya, or benefic, and Krura, or malefic, are the Sanskrit words for these two groups. Beneficial planets include the Waxing Moon, Mercury, Jupiter, and Venus. Malefic planets include the Sun, Saturn, Mars, Waning Moon, Rahu, and Ketu.
The nine planets (seven planets plus the lunar nodes) each have their own significance and meaning. The planetary rays manifest in our life in a variety of ways. Each life experience and stage of our lives is ruled by a planet. They are the most important markers of persons and the many characteristics or qualities we possess. Understanding the true meanings of the planets in our lives will lead to a higher level of consciousness, freeing us from their grip.
Rahu, Ketu, and the Planets all have different effects on each other. The ancient sages found a link between the movement of the planets and human experience’s ups and downs. Vedic Astrology investigates these variations in order to assist us in anticipating and comprehending obstacles.
Conjunction occurs when two planets of the same sign align. Planets that are in the same sign as each other are said to aspect each other. Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn all have unique aspects. The sign in which a planet is found is extremely significant. The planet’s attributes are shown more forcefully and auspiciously when the sign is favorable to it. The person in question will get more rewards in various aspects of life that the planets represent. If the sign is particularly unfavorable, on the other hand, the planet will become inauspicious and may cause issues and strife in whatever aspect of life it symbolizes.
We calculated all of these factors, as well as many others. Our astrologers have the capacity to calculate and analyze all of the planets’ intricate influences, then deliver them to you in plain English (Interpretations).
What is the order of the 14 planets?
The 14 Planet Theory was a theory proposed by ArcHivist Farazea, which ArcHivist Hegelia supported and cited in her CyberHive. Farazea used this idea to explain why Sol’s solar system originally had fourteen planets, up to Planet 14, although humans in the twentieth century thought there were only nine. Mercury and the Moon, Venus, Mondas, Earth, Mars, Asteris, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Charon, and Planet 14 were the planets according to the 14 Planet Theory.
Are there eight or twelve planets?
Our solar system consists of eight planets, 146 moons, a slew of comets, asteroids and space debris, ice, and a few dwarf planets, including Pluto. Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are the eight planets. Mercury is the planet that is nearest to the Sun.
Is there truly a 10th planet?
In our solar system, there is no known Planet X or 10th planet. Scientists have been looking for about a hundred years. It was thought that such a planet was required to explain the orbital properties of Uranus and Neptune, the outer planets.
Which planet is in charge of luck?
There’s more to astrology than our sun, moon, and rising signs. Every point and planet in the zodiac, no matter how big or tiny, reflects different aspects of who we are and how we operate. But for the time being, let’s concentrate on the enormous, as in the largest-planet-in-the-solar-system big. Jupiter, the planet of good fortune and expansion in astrology, holds the honor. Knowing what your Jupiter sign represents and what the meaning of Jupiter in astrology means might help you better understand your relationship to luck, learning, and living ethically.
In astrology, the personal planets (which include the sun, moon, Mercury, Venus, and Mars) reveal a lot about our personalities and how we react to situations. However, Jupiter in astrology informs us more about how we react to wider themes inside ourselves and society as a whole because it is one of the transpersonal social planets (which are further away from the sun than the personal planets and have a more collective impact). Jupiter rules subjects like philosophy, spiritual beliefs, morals, and higher education, thus this planet urges us to think big and explore the far reaches of the human soul. Jupiter is the traditional ruler of Pisces and the ruling planet of Sagittarius in the zodiac, thus its energy is very essential to anyone born with a lot of Sag or Pisces energy in their astrological birth chart.
Jupiter is sometimes known as the planet of good luck, despite the fact that its themes can be somewhat philosophical. Continue reading to learn more about Jupiter’s astrology.
What planet is in charge of marriage?
Venus is the planet that makes marriage easier. Jupiter (Guru), Venus (Shukra), Mercury (Budh), and the Moon are all favorable planets in everyone’s horoscope.
In the year 2021, how many planets will there be?
In our galaxy, there are more planets than stars. The number of planets orbiting our star is currently eight.
Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars are the rocky planets in the inner solar system. Perseverance, NASA’s newest rover, landed on Mars on February 18, 2021. Jupiter and Saturn are gas giants, while Uranus and Neptune are ice giants.
Beyond Neptune, a newer class of smaller worlds known as dwarf planets reigns supreme, which includes Pluto, a long-time favorite. Beyond our solar system, tens of thousands more planets have been identified. They’re known as exoplanets by scientists (exo means “from outside”).
Is there a total of seven dwarf planets?
Ceres’ surface could be similar to the existing seafloors under the solar system’s ice-covered worlds if hydrothermal processes are confirmed. Because there are massive oceans beneath the icy shells of Jupiter’s and Saturn’s moons Europa and Enceladus, astrobiologists aspire to peer beneath their icy shells. Life need water to thrive.
Ceres is similar to these moons since it has water ice covering 25% of its surface. Furthermore, the circumstances on the bottom are “where all of the ingredients necessary for habitability occur together,” according to Raymond.
Dwarf Planets Are Prolific
Pluto has a special place in the collective heart of the Internet, but it may not be that unique in the solar system. Pluto, Ceres, Eris, Makemake, Haumea, and 2015 RR245, discovered in July, are the six dwarf planets officially identified by the IAU. At least 20 other objects of similar size have been discovered since scientists began probing farther into the Kuiper belt, according to Sheppard.