Comments on: Xena, warrior … dwarf planet?

By: Laurel Kornfeld

Laurel Kornfeld — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 22:56:52 +0000

Why can’t we just get rid of the IAU, as their planet definition makes absolutely no sense in saying that dwarf planets are not planets. Both Pluto and Eris are spherical, meaning they are large enough to be pulled into a round shape by their own self-gravity, a state known as hydrostatic equilibrium.

If or preferably when, Renee publicly supports the planet status of all dwarf planets, that would be really impressive.

By: minsky

minsky — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 10:32:20 +0000

i loved Renee’s reaction when the interviewer said he was from badastronomy.com. heehee
anyway, they should have kept the names Xena and Gabrielle. lol.
i’m still irked they haven’t named a planet Minerva though.

By: Gabsfan

Gabsfan — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 23:37:02 +0000

Great clip, Phil! Thanks for posting it. They should have kept the names as Xena & Gabrielle. They are part of Pop Culture but they are from Ancient Greece and personally knew many of the Greek Gods. If NASA can name a space shuttle after Star Trek’s Enterprise, why not name some heavenly bodies after Xena & Gabrielle? And as was already said, as Planet Xena and Moon Gabrielle, their names will live on for future generations.

By: Joe Meils

Joe Meils — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 15:50:03 +0000

This is when you, Phil, should have told her that you were leading the effort to get the bodies re-named officially for the characters… and you’d like her phone number so you could keep her in the loop on how the effort was going… and perhaps you could both discuss it over dinner….

By: killyosaur

killyosaur — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 12:36:17 +0000

Which he is, but the (former) planet by the same name is not meant to have been named after the dog but the god who shares the same name.

By: killyosaur

killyosaur — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 12:35:10 +0000

@Randall If Mike Brown had named them officially Xena and Gabrielle, those names would have stood the test of time. Besides how many people do you think know who Eris and Dysnomia were anyway, besides the people who are knowledgable of Greek Mythology, or have taken the time to do the research into the names’ origins? Most do not, heck, most people think Pluto is Mickey Mouse’s dog.

By: MadScientist

MadScientist — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 06:01:06 +0000

Very entertaining; it’s great that folks like Renee O’Connor have such a great sense of humor. I promise I’ll buy your latest book if it helps you make it to the next ComCon, but first I promised someone else I’ll buy *their* latest book so you’ll have to wait until I save enough nickels.

By: COlin

COlin — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 04:34:56 +0000

Why can’t we name objects after modern pop culture? Why does it have to be ancient pop culture? Modern pop culture will be ancient someday!

By: Randall

Randall — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 23:48:57 +0000

Hey, these things are going to have their names for a while. I say we stick with names that have stood the test of time.

By: Alan

Alan — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 23:20:33 +0000

So how old does pop culture have to be before we can use it to name planets and moons? 2,500 years?

By: Angela

Angela — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 22:42:03 +0000

They kept the lawlessness intact! Tell me that’s not a coincidence.

Hail Xena!

http://juicy-flawless.org/gallery/displayimage.php?album=252&pos=24

By: Some Canadian Skeptic

Some Canadian Skeptic — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 21:33:25 +0000

hehehehe….you made a reference to the DOOP. hehehehe

By: tacitus

tacitus — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 19:36:05 +0000

Shouldn’t it be pronounced Dis-nomia as opposed to Dies-nomia?

(Actually, checking into it, it looks like both are acceptable, though “Dis” seems to be favored.)

By: ZaphodBeeblebrox

ZaphodBeeblebrox — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 18:47:50 +0000

Phil, The Term Lucky Dog comes to Mind …

I’d LOVE to Hear The Story about just how you Managed to Sneak into that Particular Party …

I Suspect, it’s a Real Hoot!

By: QUASAR

QUASAR — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 18:10:14 +0000

That dwarf planet was discovered in 2003, hello! The alternate name is 2003 UB313.

By: Boosterz

Boosterz — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 18:09:06 +0000

*sigh* http://www.abc.net.au/news/features/img/Entertainmentblog/2006/march/20060323reneeoconnor.jpg

By: wb4

wb4 — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 17:01:09 +0000

I thought it was pronounced ee-ris.

By: Phil2

Phil2 — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 17:00:24 +0000

Well, thanks for rekindling my childhood crush on Gabrielle.

By: c.

c. — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 16:19:58 +0000

I refuse to accept the “more scientific” names — they’ll always be Xena and Gabrielle to me!

By: Brian

Brian — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 16:14:09 +0000

And let us not forget that not only were the name choices Eris and Dysnomia inspired by the controversy, but Dysnomia’s literal meaning “lawlessness” was also meant to be a subtle nod to actress Lucy Lawless.

By: Cmajor7

Cmajor7 — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 15:53:25 +0000

I love the look on her face when Phil says, “It’s an astronomy blog.” Ultimately, she’s cool, but at first she’s like, “Uh…”

By: Noadi

Noadi — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 15:48:13 +0000

I’m still hoping for a Kuiper belt object named Rupert.

The names are definitely appropriate considering all the trouble they caused (I still see posts online whining about Pluto being demoted) but I liked Xena and Gabrielle a lot as names too.

By: Randall

Randall — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 15:38:01 +0000

@LarianLeQuella: I sent an email to Mike Brown complimenting him on the choice of Eris and Dysnomia; seriously, given the controversy they caused, those are the absolutely best possible names they could have gotten.

By: Phil Plait

Phil Plait — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 15:21:03 +0000

Oops! I forgot to set it to “public”. Sorry about that! It’s fixed now.

By: chimango

chimango — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 15:20:01 +0000

che, a mi tampoco me anda (doesn’t work for me either)
i’ve also tried to see make make on my linux terminal but it says that it can’t build the objective “make”, snif! (eric@eric-laptop:~$ make make)
saludos!