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Pluto’s solar wind interaction more like a planet’s

Data from New Horizons has found that Pluto, in its interaction with the solar wind, behaves more like a planet than a comet.

Previously, most researchers thought that Pluto was characterized more like a comet, which has a large region of gentle slowing of the solar wind, as opposed to the abrupt diversion solar wind encounters at a planet like Mars or Venus. Instead, like a car that’s part gas- and part battery-powered, Pluto is a hybrid, the researchers say. “This is an intermediate interaction, a completely new type. It’s not comet-like, and it’s not planet-like. It’s in-between,” McComas said. “We’ve now visited all nine of the classical planets and examined all their solar wind interactions, and we’ve never seen anything like this.”

…Pluto continues to confound. Since it’s so far from the sun – an average of about 5.9 billion kilometers (3.7 billion miles) – and because it’s so small, scientists thought Pluto’s gravity would not be strong enough to hold heavy ions in its extended atmosphere. But, “Pluto’s gravity clearly is enough to keep material sufficiently confined,” McComas said. Further, the scientists found that very little of Pluto’s atmosphere is comprised of neutral particles converted to electrically charged ions and swept out into space.

As I’ve written previously, we simply don’t know enough yet about planets to come up with a reasonable definition. As far as I’m concerned, Pluto will remain a planet until we do.

Conscious Choice cover

Now available in hardback and paperback as well as ebook!

 

From the press release: In this ground-breaking new history of early America, historian Robert Zimmerman not only exposes the lie behind The New York Times 1619 Project that falsely claims slavery is central to the history of the United States, he also provides profound lessons about the nature of human societies, lessons important for Americans today as well as for all future settlers on Mars and elsewhere in space.

 
Conscious Choice: The origins of slavery in America and why it matters today and for our future in outer space, is a riveting page-turning story that documents how slavery slowly became pervasive in the southern British colonies of North America, colonies founded by a people and culture that not only did not allow slavery but in every way were hostile to the practice.  
Conscious Choice does more however. In telling the tragic history of the Virginia colony and the rise of slavery there, Zimmerman lays out the proper path for creating healthy societies in places like the Moon and Mars.

 

“Zimmerman’s ground-breaking history provides every future generation the basic framework for establishing new societies on other worlds. We would be wise to heed what he says.” —Robert Zubrin, founder of founder of the Mars Society.

 

All editions are available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and all book vendors, with the ebook priced at $5.99 before discount. All editions can also be purchased direct from the ebook publisher, ebookit, in which case you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.

 

Autographed printed copies are also available at discount directly from me (hardback $24.95; paperback $14.95; Shipping cost for either: $5.00). Just email me at zimmerman @ nasw dot org.

3 comments

  • Jim Jakoubek

    “As I’ve written previously, we simply don’t know enough yet about planets to come up with a reasonable definition. As far as I’m concerned, Pluto will remain a planet until we do.”

    Mr. Zimmerman, I agree that a more reasonable definition of what a planet is would be in order as until 2006 Pluto was one and now is not so much. As our knowledge increases, I would submit that Pluto and other Kuiper objects will not be considered so. Remnants from the forming of the Solar System that managed become spheres and have shown some aspects of our growing knowledge about such things does not make a planet IMHO.

  • Steve Earle

    I propose a rule that states that only bodies discovered prior to 1931 be considered for planetary status…. ;-)

    But seriously, I think some consideration should be given to history and tradition. Pluto has been thought of as a planet almost since the moment it was discovered.

    Not to mention that these other bodies took considerably more time and effort than Pluto to even locate in the first place. They may rival or even surpass Pluto in size, but IIRC they are much further away. Truly they are Kuiper belt objects, whereas Pluto is much more a part of our little Sol-system.

    Heck , Pluto even comes closer to the sun than Neptune during part of its orbit, yes?

  • ken anthony

    A planet doesn’t have to orbit a star. The defining quality of a planet is it’s big enough to be round. This means some moons could also be considered planets. Colonists everywhere will certainly consider their homes to be planets.

    The traditional planets are those that orbit a star. One day we may find a moon the size of the earth… would that not be a planet?

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