Can anyone tell me, please, in our Solar System, how many Planets there might be? Two? 12? 152? NONE?

[GammaGlobulin]

  You might be surprised at the answer, according to students of Asia.

 

My Dearest Friends, and wannabe Amateur Astronomers,  

 

The strangest thing which continues to astound me is that, no matter how smart young Asian students might be, they seem to lack any knowledge of what is outside of their own country, or outside of the Earth, for that matter.

 

Why is this?

 

Who was Kepler?

 

How to make a telescope out of polished copper, back in the day?

 

Who was Ptolemy with his skull cap, and why is he important?

 

 

In Asia, seemingly, no one cares how many planets there might be; maybe planets are too far away from here.

 

All that I am saying is that education needs to be improved in these places where no one knows much about the mechanics of the solar system, the galaxy, and the universe.

 

And, also, at this moment, I am feeling the microwave background radiation coursing through me, such an energy which helps me to post this topic.

 

Seriously, however, why do Asian students not know much about what is outside of our clear blue sky, when we look up, and see nothing but the Moon and the Sun?

 

Such a failure in education, since, as we know, Science derived from Astronomy, even before the Dark Ages.

 

Best to you, my friends.

 

Sometimes, I just feel the need to pose a question which has been troubling me, for decades, here on TV.

 

Take care, and may your orbital calculations all be precise.

 

Major Tom to Ground Control, My Friends!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

 

[KhunLA]

I know what I was taught in school.  From current reading, Pluto is a ???? now.

 

Understand your point, but reality is, I really don't need most of the knowledge I've attained.  Planets, not like we're ever going to any in our lifetime or ever, and none habitable.

 

Only really need to be able to read, write, math, science (why & how), chemistry, and that's about it.  The rest, nice to know, but not needed for any practical purpose.

 

I am glad I've learned as much as I did, when I did, as they really are 'changing' and making info unavailable now.  Much easier to control ignorant people.

[CharlieH]

In my experience Geography is as alien as astronomy, in fact general education is poor and mental arithmetic non existent.

 

I despair when I see young people today using a calculator to to find change amount of 86bt from 100 or other simple maths.  Remove the machines and it's like a lobotomy!

 

To answer your OP question = 8

 

 

[GammaGlobulin]

15 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

In my experience Geography is as alien as astronomy, in fact general education is poor and mental arithmetic non existent.

 

I despair when I see young people today using a calculator to to find change amount of 86bt from 100 or other simple maths.  Remove the machines and it's like a lobotomy!

 

To answer your OP question = 8

 

 

Dear Charlie,

 

What once was 9 became 8, and now, the ninth planet, which everyone loves, might be reinstated.

 

As you know, just as everyone knows from spending time in China, nothing can easily be built in a day, so soon after the Cultural Revolution destroyed so much.

 

Still, it is just so true that too many holes exist in the education curriculum there (maybe everywhere, too).

 

I know you know.

 

Take care.

 

Regards,

 

Glob

 

 

[KhunLA]

8 - damn planet racism  ????

 

5 moons and still can't get no respect.  The little guy always gets bullied ... ????

Edited March 9, 2022 by KhunLA

[EricTh]

The number of true planets is 8.

 

There are hundreds of asteroid-like or planetoid-like objects in the asteroid belt and Kuiper belt but these are not true planets because the sizes are too small.

 

Pluto is actually just a overhyped 'discovery' but it is actually smaller than the size of our Moon.

 

Our Moon is smaller than Mercury which is the smallest true planet.

 

Edited March 9, 2022 by EricTh

[GammaGlobulin]

21 minutes ago, EricTh said:

The number of true planets is 8.

 

There are hundreds of asteroid-like or planetoid-like objects in the asteroid belt and Kuiper belt but these are not true planets because the sizes are too small.

 

Pluto is actually just a overhyped 'discovery' but it is actually smaller than the size of our Moon.

 

Our Moon is smaller than Mercury which is the smallest true planet.

 

Nice image you posted.

 

Maybe this good image will help some to better visualize the structure of the planetary system in which we reside.

 

However, next time, please include the Kuiper Belt, which is also interesting.

 

My favorite planet is Neptune... What about yours?

[GammaGlobulin]

By the way....

 

If we could just improve our method of education, in order to more emphasize the practice of the Scientific Method, in order that students around the world would learn to test hypotheses, then we might be able to reduce the chance of Global Nuclear War, and improve our chances of survival during the next one hundred years.

 

Education is key if our grandchildren wish to survive to their old age, indubitably.

 

Ignorance is bliss, in some cases.

 

However, ignorance, these days, will lead to our total demise.

 

The ONLY way we just MIGHT be able to overcome the challenges ahead, is through education according to the Scientific Method.

 

Learn to observe, then form hypotheses, and then test your hypotheses, and then be willing to alter your hypotheses based on the results of your valid tests.

 

If we cannot do this, then we will be doomed.

 

We will find our world, soon enough, at 4 degrees C, and our grandchildren will not be able to survive such a world.

 

Some guys don't dig Science.

 

And, these guys are the dinosaurs of today's world. 

[swissie]

There was a time when visitors to Pattaya felt like they have landed on "another planet". Used to be my favorite planet, not shy to say.

[swissie]

53 minutes ago, GammaGlobulin said:

By the way....

 

If we could just improve our method of education, in order to more emphasize the practice of the Scientific Method, in order that students around the world would learn to test hypotheses, then we might be able to reduce the chance of Global Nuclear War, and improve our chances of survival during the next one hundred years.

 

Education is key if our grandchildren wish to survive to their old age, indubitably.

 

Ignorance is bliss, in some cases.

 

However, ignorance, these days, will lead to our total demise.

 

The ONLY way we just MIGHT be able to overcome the challenges ahead, is through education according to the Scientific Method.

 

Learn to observe, then form hypotheses, and then test your hypotheses, and then be willing to alter your hypotheses based on the results of your valid tests.

 

If we cannot do this, then we will be doomed.

 

We will find our world, soon enough, at 4 degrees C, and our grandchildren will not be able to survive such a world.

 

Some guys don't dig Science.

 

And, these guys are the dinosaurs of today's world. 

HeHe. Long term we are doomed. Some by knowing it, some by not knowing it yet. Better not to know. Makes for happier people.

[swissie]

1 hour ago, GammaGlobulin said:

Nice image you posted.

 

Maybe this good image will help some to better visualize the structure of the planetary system in which we reside.

 

However, next time, please include the Kuiper Belt, which is also interesting.

 

My favorite planet is Neptune... What about yours?

Those images are never correctly visualized. Otherwise even the largest (Saturn) would only have the size of half a pinhead on those images.

[GammaGlobulin]

6 minutes ago, swissie said:

HeHe. Long term we are doomed. Some by knowing it, some by not knowing it yet. Better not to know. Makes for happier people.

You must be the single most happy fatalist the world has ever known.

 

And, knowing what we know, now, most scientists would find it difficult to argue with your point of view.

 

For example, there seems to be just too much momentum in the system, now.

And, we have left things too late.

 

There seems to be no logical answer to our quandary, at this time.

 

Still, we can be thankful for one thing:

 

Global Nuclear War, the threat of this, is just icing on our cake, and is no longer anything to worry about, compared to impending Global Warming.

 

If you have a solution to immediately galvanizing Social Change necessary to turn things around, in a heartbeat, then please post your solution here.

 

The whole world is watching.

 

The whole world is waiting for your solution.

 

Which is, per se, the solution to Human Nature.

[Virt]

19 minutes ago, swissie said:

Those images are never correctly visualized. Otherwise even the largest (Saturn) would only have the size of half a pinhead on those images.

Here is a fun video about scale, compared to our earth and sun.

 

 

 

[swissie]

8 minutes ago, GammaGlobulin said:

You must be the single most happy fatalist the world has ever known.

 

And, knowing what we know, now, most scientists would find it difficult to argue with your point of view.

 

For example, there seems to be just too much momentum in the system, now.

And, we have left things too late.

 

There seems to be no logical answer to our quandary, at this time.

 

Still, we can be thankful for one thing:

 

Global Nuclear War, the threat of this, is just icing on our cake, and is no longer anything to worry about, compared to impending Global Warming.

 

If you have a solution to immediately galvanizing Social Change necessary to turn things around, in a heartbeat, then please post your solution here.

 

The whole world is watching.

 

The whole world is waiting for your solution.

 

Which is, per se, the solution to Human Nature.

Too much momentum in the system. = Downward momentum. Social change is not possible. It would affect the wallet too much in a negative way. Sorry no solution. Nor has anyone else. Human nature has not changed for the last 80'000 years.

[GammaGlobulin]

9 minutes ago, swissie said:

Those images are never correctly visualized. Otherwise even the largest (Saturn) would only have the size of half a pinhead on those images.

As you say, if the Sun were the size of a pecker, and your pecker were in your pocket, then....how far away would you need to go to find Neptune?

 

Space is vast.

 

One AU, the distance from here to the Sun, for example, is still minute compared to the distance you would need to go to find the nearest galaxy.

 

Neptune orbits the Sun at a distance of 30 AU.

 

And, in terms of light years, it is a mere 0.00047 light years from the Sun to Neptune.

 

Yet, in order to visit the Pleiades Star Cluster, traveling at the speed of light, you could make this short journey in 450 years.

 

I love the Six Sisters, and they are always there, almost anytime I gaze at the heavens.

 

 

 

[GammaGlobulin]

4 minutes ago, swissie said:

Too much momentum in the system. = Downward momentum. Social change is not possible. It would affect the wallet too much in a negative way. Sorry no solution. Nor has anyone else. Human nature has not changed for the last 80'000 years.

I agree with you.

 

Turning now would be like trying to stop a supertanker, at full steam, as if it were a Porsche.

Just cannot be done.

 

Bon Voyage.

[swissie]

12 minutes ago, GammaGlobulin said:

As you say, if the Sun were the size of a pecker, and your pecker were in your pocket, then....how far away would you need to go to find Neptune?

 

Space is vast.

 

One AU, the distance from here to the Sun, for example, is still minute compared to the distance you would need to go to find the nearest galaxy.

 

Neptune orbits the Sun at a distance of 30 AU.

 

And, in terms of light years, it is a mere 0.00047 light years from the Sun to Neptune.

 

Yet, in order to visit the Pleiades Star Cluster, traveling at the speed of light, you could make this short journey in 450 years.

 

I love the Six Sisters, and they are always there, almost anytime I gaze at the heavens.

 

 

 

Since we are at it: Yes space is vast.This is why, I do not understand the concept of "interstellar-travel", even advocated by a certain segment of the "scientific community". (Humans leaving a plundered earth, to settle somewhere else, some 400 light years away???)

 

Even bringing a few guys to Mars would be a monstrous (pointless) effort. The earth is our only home. Everything else is just too far away.

[GammaGlobulin]

Still, though things may seem temporarily dire, we must continue to remain optimistic.

 

Otherwise, what is the point.

 

As CO2 levels continue to rise, unabated, and the rapidity of this rise continues to increase, we all must remain optimistic, and look on the bright side.

 

What goes up, must, eventually, come down, during the next 2000 years.

 

Remain calm.

 

Look on the bright side.

 

 

 

Edited March 9, 2022 by GammaGlobulin

[swissie]

24 minutes ago, GammaGlobulin said:

I agree with you.

 

Turning now would be like trying to stop a supertanker, at full steam, as if it were a Porsche.

Just cannot be done.

 

Bon Voyage.

Compared to a newborn child, my voyage will be short. No regrets. I lived in a truly phantastic and rare *"window of time". The thought and the wish that I may leave the stage, before the final curtain falls is comforting.

[sirineou]

Is It others that we try to convince of how clever  we are, or is it ourselves?

Over the years I must have seen hundreds  of these "Why can't they be as smart as us" treads, and they all start the same way. 

I Propose we start a subforum , we can call it the "Smart aleck " " subforum. That way we can read replies such as "Moved to the Smart aleck forum. 

If one truly wanted to know how many planets there are in our solar system , it would be easy to Google it, but where is the fun in that? when you can do it and demean people at the same time. 

Edited March 9, 2022 by sirineou

[GammaGlobulin]

41 minutes ago, swissie said:

Compared to a newborn child, my voyage will be short. No regrets. I lived in a truly phantastic and rare *"window of time". The thought and the wish that I may leave the stage, before the final curtain falls is comforting.

Wait for the final curtain call, since you might receive more applause than you originally had anticipated.

 

It's not over, until it is over.

 

And, in the scheme of this great universe, we still have more than 1.0 × 10 raised to the power of 100 years ahead of us, mostly living with cloned lookalikes resembling Elon Musk.

 

Elon Musk will go on, into infinity.

 

However, for most of us, we will end up like Yogi Berra who once said....

 

 

 

[FalangKino]

What?

[Elad]

2 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

Yet, in order to visit the Pleiades Star Cluster, traveling at the speed of light, you could make this short journey in 450 years.

Nothing can travel at the speed of light but if you were travelling very close to c then the journey time would be reduced significantly, due to time dilation.  

[GammaGlobulin]

6 minutes ago, Elad said:

Nothing can travel at the speed of light but if you were travelling very close to c then the journey time would be reduced significantly, due to time dilation.  

But NOT for the observer, of course.

Edited March 9, 2022 by GammaGlobulin

[Elad]

1 minute ago, GammaGlobulin said:

But only for the observer, of course.

If you mean the travelers yes. 

[GammaGlobulin]

1 minute ago, Elad said:

If you mean the travelers yes. 

Sorry, I meant...NOT for the observer, of course.

[GammaGlobulin]

17 minutes ago, Elad said:

If you mean the travelers yes. 

So then, given enough energy, if you left Earth for the Pleiades Cluster, say at 99.998 percent of the speed of light, then...how much older would you be, by the time you arrived, after you left Earth, if you checked your watch? 

 

Care to work this out?

[Hummin]

Easy answer it is official 8 

Optimistic answer 9 with planet X

 

Complicated answer nobody knows

 

[jerrymahoney]

 

 

[1FinickyOne]

7 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

why do Asian students not know much about what is outside of our clear blue sky,

oh my... I had a business in rural Central Pennsylvania and most of the kids probably had no idea what an 'Asian Student' meant/was... the lack of simple every day knowledge was appalling... and Ma and Pa had no idea either...