Astrophysics Terminology.

[swestrup]

Since we have now clarified what size something has to be to be called a 'planet', we need to take it all the way and make the terminology consistent with that of 'meteor'. After all science is all about rigidly orthogonal terminological structures. And so, since we already have:

Meteoroid: A modestly (pebble- to boulder-) sized object in space.
Meteor: A meteoroid that is falling within a planetary atmosphere.
Metorite: The remains of a Metor (if any) after it strikes a planetary surface.

Thus we are required to have:

Planetoid: An object of sufficient mass that its self-gravity pulls it into a spheroid shape.
Planet: A planetoid that has entered the atmosphere.
Planetite: The remains (if any) of a Planet that has struck another planet.

By these definitions we can clearly see that Pluto is not a planet but a planetoid, as are most of the so-called 'planets' in our solar system. Luckily, it seems that both true planets and planetites are quite rare.

Comments

[hendrikboom.livejournal.com]

Metorite: The remains of a Metor (if any) after it strikes a planetary surface.

I think it's also called a meteorite retroactively before it strikes the planetary surface. Of course, until it does, you don't know you can call it a meteorite.

[hendrikboom.livejournal.com]

Metorite: The remains of a Meteor (if any) after it strikes a planetary surface.

I think it's also called a meteorite retroactively before it strikes the planetary surface. Of course, until it does, you don't know you can call it a meteorite.

[ims.livejournal.com]

Which raises the question, what's the difference betten a stalact and a stalagm?

(I think the answer is, a stalact falls pointy-end-down and is therefore scarier.)

[sps.livejournal.com]

(Falls off chair, attracting stares at Tim's....)

[sps.livejournal.com]

I thought perhaps a planet's own atmosphere counts. This would make the earth a planet, but I worry about the gas giants. Since the standard suffix for 'object within an atmosphere' is [BKSP][BKSP][BKSP], then a planet composed entirely of atmosphere would have a negative length name. Or am I missing something?

[swestrup]

Actually, I think that the standard suffix is anti-i, anti-t, anti-e, so (depending on commutation rules, of course) we may end up with Jupr.