Pluto belongs to a new category : plutoids

[pixel01]

After only two years of being a dwaf planet, Pluto now belongs to a new category:
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/080612-pluto-planet.html

Correction: "#comments" removed

 

[g33kski11z]

Interesting, although, I feel the this is caused by people who can't let go of the fact that it is no longer considered a "planet".

oh, and fyi,
remove the " #comments " from your link so it goes to the top of the page.

 

[LowlyPion]

What happened to the plan to call them "plutons"?

Plutoids make them sound like other less appealing things that end in "-oid".

 

[B. Elliott]

What happened to the plan to call them "plutons"?

Plutoids make them sound like other less appealing things that end in "-oid".

They're just following the standard Latin nomenclature, where -oid means 'the likeness of'. The same as planetoid (likeness a planet) and asteroid (likeness a star). IMO, it's a very distinguishing position Pluto is now in, it is the very object for which all future 'plutoids' will be named after.

 

[LowlyPion]

Given the origin and all I could see "planetoids" in the spirit of scaling up from asteroids since they are "like" planets, it's just that I recall at one point earlier in their discussion they had referred to them as "plutons".

Not that it really matters all that much to me ... What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.

But considering the origin of the name - suggested by an English schoolgirl I understand - with possibly Disney and not Roman mythology on the brain - and meshing apparently with the initials of Percival Lowell - Lowell observatory and all that tracked it down and adopted it - I just think it seems an odd nod to history to preserve the "pluto-ness" of it at all now it's decided it doesn't meet the new concocted definition.

Ultimately I suppose calling them plutoids now is at least a way of tossing the Pluto-purists a bone - so to speak.

 

[LowlyPion]

Seems I got the order of things a bit off between Disney and Pluto the planet now just the archetype of a class called plutoids.

This article seems to address the issue quite directly:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4596246.stm

Interestingly Pluto the non-anthropomorphised Disney dog - as opposed to Goofy - the lower IQ dog that wears clothes - though he too first appeared in 1930 too didn't acquired his name until 1931 - the year after Venetia Phair made her suggestion in tribute to Pluto, Roman God of the underworld.

The origin of Disney Pluto from Wikipedia (fwtw):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pluto_(Disney )

 

[pixel01]

Pluto is still lucky that IAU has chosen the term "plutoid" instead of "erisoid"

 

[LowlyPion]

Well if you want to start talking about lucky let us be thankful that Hermes (nee Mercury by the Romans) wasn't available and not chosen.

I'm not sure the world would be happy with calling these plutoids by the name of "hermeoids". (I can sense a difficult association with the "preparation" of the Hubble constant "H".)

Though oddly Hermes - the Greek god of "boundaries" - might well have been a really good choice given the boundary nature of Pluto and its plutoid cousins drifting about out there.