New Mars Forums

SpaceBull

Member

Registered: 2005-09-26

Posts: 45

Re: We have a new planet - Ceres

Will it have a great impact on space exploration that Ceres will now be considered a planet instead of an asteroid?

I think it will!

Previous space exploration has been focused on Mars and Venus, but I believe this might change when Ceres is redefined as a planet. This little ice-covered world the size of Texas should certainly be explored with suitable equipment. Maybe we could even send manned missions there one day - the escape velocity is not exactly very high, and the frozen surface water makes it suitable for settlement.

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[url=http://www.newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3941]Martian Settlement 2035?[/url]

Commodore

Member

From: Upstate NY, USA

Registered: 2004-07-25

Posts: 1,021

Re: We have a new planet - Ceres

It definately adds a wrinkle.

It requires a combination of the lunar landing technology and surface ops, with the Mars transit technology. And since we basically have to do things in that order, it almost makes it a juicier target than Mars. Literally.

If we can harvest even a small amount of rocket fuel on the moon, that same technology can reap a massive crop on Ceres. And if we can transport it across interplanetary space, it with have an astronomical impact on space travel.

Kinda makes you wonder why it wasn't taken seriously before. It could really get the ball rolling.

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"Yes, I was going to give this astronaut selection my best shot, I was determined when the NASA proctologist looked up my ass, he would see pipes so dazzling he would ask the nurse to get his sunglasses."
---Shuttle Astronaut Mike Mullane

SpaceNut

Administrator

From: New Hampshire

Registered: 2004-07-22

Posts: 28,970

Re: We have a new planet - Ceres

Then when we are done with all of the exploring we can tale time to try and write it all down into the next generations text books.

Now just how many planets are there, dwarf, gas giant.... and the list may grow beyound those.

But yes ceres is tempting....

dicktice

Member

From: Nova Scotia, Canada

Registered: 2002-11-01

Posts: 1,764

Re: We have a new planet - Ceres

Ceres Direct?

RedStreak

Banned

From: Illinois

Registered: 2006-05-12

Posts: 541

Re: We have a new planet - Ceres

Keep in mind they're still debating.  They're simply outlined the most basic definition of a planet - i.e. something big and round.  There's bound to be devils in the details.

Still I advocate visiting Ceres.  It's obviously the biggest thing between Mars and Jupiter, its likely a prime example of the bodies that existed in the solar system during planetary formation, and it likely is a world unto itself...which may prove it worthy of the planet title.

RobertDyck

Moderator

From: Winnipeg, Canada

Registered: 2002-08-20

Posts: 7,813

Website

Re: We have a new planet - Ceres

Last Friday, at our monthly Mars Society meeting, one member who is also president of the local chapter of the astronomy society announced this. He said we now have 12 planets including Cerers. The rule is it must have enough gravity to squish it into a sphere, and orbit a star. Our moon orbits a planet, not a star, so Luna isn't a planet. However, by my count that makes 13, not 12: the 9 we've known since grade school plus Ceres in the main asteroid belt, Quaoar and Xena in the Kuiper belt, and Sedna is so far out some people think it's an Oort cloud object. That adds up to 13. When I check Wikipedia I see they found a couple more Kuiper belt objects: 2005 FY9, and 2003 EL61. The latter is oval, but the former is spherical so that makes 14 planets.

By the way, the working code name for 2003 EL61 is "Santa", and the code name for 2005 FY9 is "Easterbunny". The catalogue designation for Xena is 2003 UB313; some astronomers want to claim the name "Xena" is also a working code name until they come up with a real name, but the guy who discovered it called it Xena. The tradition is the guy who finds a celestial object gets to name it, but many astronomers respond "You are NOT calling it THAT!" They could have claimed it was named after a Greek goddess, not a TV show character, but the Greek name is spelled Xenia. To make matters worse, they found a small rock orbitting Xena, which has been named Gabrielle, the TV character's sidekick. That settles it, it's named after a TV character. There's no way the science snobs will accept the name now.

Martin_Tristar

Member

From: Earth, Region : Australia

Registered: 2004-12-07

Posts: 305

Re: We have a new planet - Ceres

By the way, the International Conference also discussed  another 12 objects that over time could become official planets on the list. Its also seems that we have hundreds of moons of the current planets.

We will have alot of exploring to do, but I hope this doesn't change the focus of current space programs from the Moon and certainly Mars.

RobS

Banned

From: South Bend, IN

Registered: 2002-01-15

Posts: 1,701

Website

Re: We have a new planet - Ceres

Ceres should be visited by quite a few unmanned space probes; it represents a very large, only partially differentiated chondritic object, so it will tell us something about the stuff forming the solar system. It appears to be very wet, also, so there may be some very interesting chemical process occurring inside it, especially if it was hot in the past. The surface spectra appear to indicate the presence of salts and oxides, so the water has altered ("weathered"?) the interior.

Humans will visit when the return can justify the danger. That will depend on how quicky the danger (and cost) decrease and whether the unmanned vehicles find enough interesting data to warrant humans. The human-requiring project I envision: a truly deep drilling project to reach the asteroid's core, some 500 kilometers below the surface. That will require a lot of technological developments, almost certainly will require some humans present, and could tell us an immense amount about the evolution of Ceres, which could tell us something about the asteroid belt and the early solar system. I doubt Ceres' water or its central location in the asteroid belt are enough to warrant a staffed facility.

                       -- RobS

Commodore

Member

From: Upstate NY, USA

Registered: 2004-07-25

Posts: 1,021

Re: We have a new planet - Ceres

Oh well, that was fun while it lasted.

Ceres would have would have made a great planet, and drawn attention to everything else in its neck of the woods.

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"Yes, I was going to give this astronaut selection my best shot, I was determined when the NASA proctologist looked up my ass, he would see pipes so dazzling he would ask the nurse to get his sunglasses."
---Shuttle Astronaut Mike Mullane

GCNRevenger

Member

From: Earth

Registered: 2003-10-14

Posts: 6,056

Re: We have a new planet - Ceres

And then there were eight

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[i]"The power of accurate observation is often called cynicism by those that do not have it." - George Bernard Shaw[/i]

[i]The glass is at 50% of capacity[/i]

SpaceNut

Administrator

From: New Hampshire

Registered: 2004-07-22

Posts: 28,970

Re: We have a new planet - Ceres

But we will have many Drawfs to fill the void

With some of the definitions that they were being approved by them even Earth could have been demoted.

RedStreak

Banned

From: Illinois

Registered: 2006-05-12

Posts: 541

Re: We have a new planet - Ceres

I don't think 'dwarf' is an appropriate name - people will still say 'planet'.

A whole new name should be created, something like planetoid would be perfect for instance - it suggests it is both planet-like and yet with characteristics like that of an asteroid.  Isn't that what Pluto, Xena, and even Ceres all have in common and yet each is still a unique world?

Astronomers are notorious uncreative...such as that 'Pluton' remark that geologists had to point out was already one of their terms.

Josh Cryer

Moderator

Registered: 2001-09-29

Posts: 3,830

Re: We have a new planet - Ceres

I wanted Ceres to be a planet, but I knew that if it was a planet, than many objects out there would be planets. So I'm happy with this new definition.

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Some useful links while MER are active. [url=http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html]Offical site[/url] [url=http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/MM_NTV_Web.html]NASA TV[/url] [url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/mer2004/]JPL MER2004[/url] [url=http://www.spaceflightnow.com/mars/mera/statustextonly.html]Text feed[/url]
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The amount of solar radiation reaching the surface of the earth totals some 3.9 million exajoules a year.

Commodore

Member

From: Upstate NY, USA

Registered: 2004-07-25

Posts: 1,021

Re: We have a new planet - Ceres

I don't think 'dwarf' is an appropriate name - people will still say 'planet'.

A whole new name should be created, something like planetoid would be perfect for instance - it suggests it is both planet-like and yet with characteristics like that of an asteroid.  Isn't that what Pluto, Xena, and even Ceres all have in common and yet each is still a unique world?

Astronomers are notorious uncreative...such as that 'Pluton' remark that geologists had to point out was already one of their terms.

In such a PC society, you can bet the lawyers will be all over this. We'll have to call them "Little People Planets". 

They wanted to imply size, they could have solved the whole thing by setting a diameter requirement to be a planet. 750km for example.

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"Yes, I was going to give this astronaut selection my best shot, I was determined when the NASA proctologist looked up my ass, he would see pipes so dazzling he would ask the nurse to get his sunglasses."
---Shuttle Astronaut Mike Mullane

idiom

Member

From: New Zealand

Registered: 2004-04-21

Posts: 312

Re: We have a new planet - Ceres

Thats so arbitrary though

I liked the early idea, I dont mind having fifty planets, the more the merrier.

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Come on to the Future

Commodore

Member

From: Upstate NY, USA

Registered: 2004-07-25

Posts: 1,021

Re: We have a new planet - Ceres

No more arbitrary than saying a planet must destroy, capture, or kick out every other object in its neighborhood. And its more consistant to say a planet is a dwarf because its smaller than X than basing it on whats around it. No planet meets that standard.

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"Yes, I was going to give this astronaut selection my best shot, I was determined when the NASA proctologist looked up my ass, he would see pipes so dazzling he would ask the nurse to get his sunglasses."
---Shuttle Astronaut Mike Mullane