3063: Planet Definitions

2025-03-14T18:22:18Z

Tungol: /* Trivia */

{{comic
| number = 3063
| date = March 14, 2025
| title = Planet Definitions
| image = planet_definitions_2x.png
| imagesize = 653x1435px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Under the 'has cleared its orbital neighborhood' and 'fuses hydrogen into helium' definitions, thanks to human activities Earth technically no longer qualifies as a planet but DOES count as a star.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|The explanation is too short.}}

This comic addresses the controversy of whether of Pluto is a planet and gives many other humorous definitions of what a planet could be.

Prior to 2006, there was no formal definition of a "planet" and it was generally accepted as a colloquialism there were nine planets around the Sun, Pluto included. As more sophisticated methods of mapping the Solar System were developed and Eris was discovered to be even more massive than Pluto, it became clear to astronomers that a more standardized definition was needed. In 2006 the International Astronomical Union (IAU) published their formal redefinition of a "planet" to require a planet to be gravitationally dominant within its orbit, disqualifying Pluto (and Eris) which is now considered a "dwarf planet." This has been subject to push back from countless people, including [https://arxiv.org/abs/2110.15285 some planetary scientists], but in numbers mostly nostalgic laypeople dissatisfied with Pluto being "demoted" or otherwise snubbed.

Apparently Randall has seen Uranus (see 'Empiricist'). This is fairly rare, since it usually requires a telescope pointed in just the right direction. Technically [https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/advice/skills/how-see-uranus-in-night-sky Uranus ''is'' visible to the naked eye] under the very best viewing conditions, but these conditions are rare and it again requires knowing exactly where to look.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:[A table with 3 columns, labelled "Definition", "# of planets", and "Solar system". The last row is a drawing of the Solar system, with elements included in the definition of the row colored in green]
:['''Traditionalist:''' Pluto is a planet | 9 | Mercury, Venus, the Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune + its satellite (probably an error, and Pluto should be colored instead]
:['''Modern:''' Pluto is not a planet | 8 | Mercury, Venus, the Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto (probably an error, Pluto should not be colored)]
:['''Expansive:''' Dwarf planets are planets | 17+ | Mercury, Venus, the Earth, Mars, Ceres Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and other dwarf planets in the Kuiper belt]
:['''Ultratraditionalist:''' Only the classical planets are planets | 5 | Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn]
:['''Condescending:''' Only giant planets are planets; the rest are big asteroids. | 4 | Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune]
:['''Simplistic:''' Anything gravitationally round is a planet | 37+ | the Sun, Mercury, Venus, the Earth, the Moon, Mars, Ceres, Jupiter and its moons, Saturn and Titan, Uranus and its moons, Neptune and its moon, Pluto and other dwarf planets in the Kuiper belt]
:['''Grounded:''' Only objects a spaceship has landed on are planets | 10 | Venus, the Earth, the Moon, Mars, some asteroids, and Titan]
:['''Regolithic:''' Anything covered in dirt and ice and stuff is a planet | infinity | Mercury, Venus, the Earth, the Moon, Mars, Ceres and all asteroids from the Asteroid belt, the moons of Jupiter, Pluto and other dwarf planets in the Kuiper belt and their moons]
:['''Lunar:''' You can't be a planet if you don't have a moon | 12+ | the Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and some other dwarf planets in the Kuiper belt]
:['''Solipsitic:''' Earth is the only planet | 1 | the Earth]
:['''Judgemental:''' Only the prettiest ones are planets | 6 | the Earth, Jupiter and one of its moons, Saturn and Titan, Triton, and Pluto]
:['''Empiricist:''' Only worlds that I, author of this table, have personally seen are planets | 12 | Mercury, Venus, the Earth, the Moon, Mars Jupiter and its moons, Saturn, and Uranus]
:['''Marine biologist:''' Only objects with oceans are planets | 6+ | the Earth, some moons of Jupiter, and two moons of Saturn]
:['''Maritime:''' Only objects with '''''surface''''' oceans are planets | 6+ | the Earth, and Titan]
:['''Universalist:''' They're all planets | infinity | the Sun, Mercury, Venus, the Earth, the Moon, Mars, Ceres and all asteroids from the Asteroid belt, Jupiter and its moons, Saturn and Titan, Uranus and its moons, Neptune and its moon, Pluto and the Kuiper belt]
:['''Existantialist:''' What is space '''''itself''''' is a planet??? | ''Duude'' | the Sun, Mercury, Venus, the Earth, the Moon, Mars, Ceres and all asteroids from the Asteroid belt, Jupiter and its moons, Saturn and Titan, Uranus and its moons, Neptune and its moon, Pluto, the Kuiper belt, and the space around it]
:['''Spiteful:''' '''''Only''''' Pluto is a planet | 1 | Pluto]

==Trivia==
The comic contains a few errors:
*The 'Traditionalist' definition has Neptune's satellite {{w|Triton (moon)|Triton}} colored instead of Pluto.
*The 'Modern' definition has Pluto colored as a 9th planet. It appears that the images for 'Traditionalist' and 'Modern' are swapped.
*The 'Judgemental' definition has 7 colored objects instead of the labelled 6.
*There are seven classical planets, but the 'Ultratraditionalist' definition excludes two of them. An even more traditional definition would include the sun and the moon as planets.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Space]]

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3063: Planet Definitions