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Astrology Beliefs
The Demotion of Pluto
The year was 1930. An astronomer, Clyde Tombaugh, was just 24 years old. He was studying the night sky at Lowell Observatory in Arizona when he discovered what would come to be known as Pluto…the ninth planet in our solar system. On January 23, 1930, Clyde saw a dim speck moving among the stars. It was quickly hailed as not only the ninth planet in our solar system, but the first planet discovered by an American. Americans were so proud!
There were a lot of names suggested for the new planet that Tombaugh had discovered. It was his prerogative to choose the name. Suggestions flowed in from all over the world. "Pluto" was suggested by then-11-year-old Venetia Burney from Oxford, England. She wanted to name the planet after Mickey Mouse's dog (Mickey's dog Pluto debuted that same year). Tombough liked the name and chose it. Venetia still lives in England and is quoted as having said, "It has now been satisfactorily proven that the dog was named after the planet, rather than the other way round."
Problem is, Pluto is no longer a planet. It didn't change, disintegrate, or disappear from the night sky. Rather, it fell victim to what some describe as "politics."
Pluto is no longer considered a planet thanks to votes cast by only 424 astronomers (5% of the membership) on the very last day of the meeting of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in Prague in 2006.
Mike Brown, an astronomer from CalTech (and another American), recently discovered another Pluto-sized object that will not be called a planet either, under the new guidelines.
Many of those who are in a position to know say that the decision will not stand and that textbooks should not be rewritten just yet. The vote has been taken, but the debate isn't over.
See Also:
Nicolaus Copernicus, Treaty of Westminster & Carson McCullers
Sir Christopher Wren
The Planet Venus
Back in 1686, a French scholar by the name of Bernard de Fontenelle, wrote, "I can tell from here...what the inhabitants of Venus are like; they resemble the Moors of Granada; a small black people, burned by the sun, full of wit and fire, always in love, writing verse, fond of music, arranging festivals, dances, and tournaments every day."
Nice try, Bernard, but you had it all wrong. Back in those days, it was generally accepted that Venus was much like Earth. Venus is about the size of Earth, but that's pretty much where all resemblance ends.
Almost all of the planets in our solar system travel around the sun in a counterclockwise direction…all of them except Venus and Uranus, that is. Venus (as well as Uranus) travels clockwise. All of the planets except Venus and Uranus rotate on their axis in a counterclockwise direction. Venus and Uranus rotate clockwise.
Venus also rotates really slowly, too. A "day" on Venus would equal about 243 Earth days. Venus is covered by a thick layer of clouds that make studying the surface very difficult. In the last 30 years, however, astronomers have learned how to "see" through the thick cloud cover.
In 1962, Mariner 2 was the first spacecraft to go by Venus. Since then, there have been 20 more missions. The first hard landing on Venus was done by Venera 4 in 1967. The first soft landing was done by Venera 7 in 1970.
In 1989, the Magellan spacecraft probe was launched. Magellan rotated around Venus from 1990 to 1995. It then burned up in the atmosphere of Venus. Magellan bounced radar signals off the surface of Venus and transmitted the data back to Earth. |
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More articles:
SOLAR ECLIPSE: Stories From the Path of Totality
The Modern Planet Uranus Screensaver 1.0
Famous Meteorites (Cosmic Collisions) - Cosmeo
St. Paul’s Cathedral
The Carl Sagan Portal
Careers in Astronomy
NASA
In 1958, the Congress of the United States enacted, and the President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Act (NASA). The act begins with a very simple statement; "An Act to provide for research into the problems of flight within and outside the Earth's atmosphere, and for other purposes."
The Cold War between the United States and (what was) the Soviet Union was in full swing. With the passing and signing of the act that established NASA, what has come to be known as the "space race" was kicked off. The Soviet Union had launched Sputnik 1 and had an apparent head start in the race to space.
The United States caught up quickly. In January 1958, Explorer 1 (America's first earth satellite) was launched.
Then NASA launched human space flight initiatives with Mercury's single astronaut program (flights during 1961-1963) to determine if a human could survive in space.
The Project Gemini (flights during 1965-1966) with two astronauts to was used to practice space operations, like rendezvousing and docking spacecraft and extravehicular activity (EVA or space walks).
This was followed with Project Apollo (flights during 1968-1972) to explore the Moon. Since then NASA has conducted robotic missions to the Moon (Ranger, Surveyor, and Lunar Orbiter); Venus (Pioneer Venus), Mars (Mariner 4, Viking 1 and 2), and the outer planets (Pioneer 10 and 11, Voyager 1 and 2).
NASA has had its problems over the years. The space shuttle Challenger blew up on January 28, 1986, killing seven astronauts. The space program was grounded for two years. Another tragedy happened on February 1, 2003, when the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated on re-entry. All seven people on board were killed instantly.
Space travel is not without its dangers, but space in the next great frontier for mankind to conquer. You can be sure that the space program and NASA will continue into the foreseeable future.
Related Topics: The First Seven Astronauts,
The Constellations, Telescope Accessories
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