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Posted to the UseNet Newsgroup "alt.astronomy" THE ALTOGETHER To get it all together here are the reasons why the Moon will someday be officially reclassified a... Full Fledged "Major Planet" 1) The size of the Moon relative to most natural satellites and, more importantly, the Moon's size relative to our planet Earth. 2) The "barycenter", also called "center of gravity" (CG) of the Earth-Moon system is about 3,000 miles out from Earth's center toward the surface, or only about 1,000 miles below Earth's surface. 3) All major planets always "fall" toward the Sun. Satellites sometimes fall toward the Sun and sometimes move away from the Sun. Our Moon *always* falls toward the Sun. The Moon's open orbit around Earth means it never goes fully and completely all the way around our planet! 4) The way the Moon "fits in" with the other solid planets. Earth's sister planet, Selene, fits in very well with these other major planets! 5) Natural satellites orbit their primary planets directly above the planet's equator. Major planets orbit the Sun on or near the ecliptic. Selene's orbit around the Sun (and the Earth) is off the ecliptic by only 5 degrees. Selene varies fully 18-23 degrees off the Earth's equatorial plane. 6) The Moon's orbit is far too distant from Earth to be either a true satellite or a captured one. ____________________________________ Now, here's one more little thing for you to consider. Here it is, just for you... Isaac Asimov, who was one of the most gifted people to ever grace and space our minds, was the one who thought of all these reasons. Asimov truly believed that one day, perhaps several years from the time he wrote his essays on the Moon, the global astronomy community would finally realize that our Solar System has another distinct major planet. Isaac Asimov truly believed that the Earth and Moon together form a binary planet system. Well, official reclassification didn't happen in his lifetime. Isn't it interesting how science will move so quickly to rename some things in light of new evidence (for example, like changing the "Andromeda Nebula" to the "Andromeda Galaxy") and then move very slowly, or not seem to move ever at all, even when the evidence *so strongly* suggests that renaming is needed? Ah, but it would take more than just a renaming, wouldn't it? It would take a reclassification of the Moon from "satellite" to "major planet". Even some classical poetry might be rendered impotent. We have been viewing the Moon as going completely around the Earth for far too long, i suppose. Imagine... even back when the last holdout finally gave in to heliocentrism--the belief the Sun is the center of the Universe, and that the Earth revolves around the Sun instead of the other way around--even that last holdout could say, "Well, at least we still have the Moon. If nothing else goes around the Earth, at least the Moon still does!" And yet, even this we find to be wrong due to a limited perspective. Our Moon doesn't completely orbit the Earth at all. It orbits the Sun in careful step with the Earth. Maybe it's all just too hard to swallow? Anyway, if long after i'm dead and gone, ya'll do decide to stop calling a planet a satellite, then you may need a new name for the Moon. I mean... you *can't* keep calling it "the Moon", after all, because a moon is defined as a satellite. Its other name, the Roman "Luna", won't do either because, while it happens to be a pretty name for the goddess of the Moon, it is still too closely identified with the "Moon is just a satellite" idea. On top of this, "Luna" has all those negative associations such as "lunatic" and "lunacy" and those ever so controversial "lunar" landing missions. <g> For me, of all the potential new names for the Moon, by far the most beautiful, seductive one is... Selene That's pronounced seh-LAY-nay, and is the ancient Greek name for the goddess of the Moon. This name does not wear the cloak of "satellite" so much as "Moon" and "Luna" do. I think "Selene" sounds rare and beautiful!... much like our mysterious partner in space!... very much like our rare and beautiful sister!... planet Selene happy days and... starry starry nights! -- Indelibly yours, Paine P.S. Thank YOU for reading! P.P.S. Some secret sites (shh)... http://painellsworth.net http://savethechildren.org http://eBook-eDen.secretsgolden.com |