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all 175 comments

[–]Jack9 464 points465 points ago

The size of pluto is not to the same scale on that infographic. It's on the wrong infographic. Go home pluto, you're drunk.

[–]Ph0X 279 points280 points ago

[–]myopinionstinks 52 points53 points ago

I came here for this graphic. reddit, and more specifically PhoX, does not disappoint.

[–]diothar 1 point2 points ago

Think you could add the text from the first into the graphic drawn to scale? You'd be my hero.

[–]Ph0X 1 point2 points ago

I'm not quite sure what you mean. The "hey guys.."? That would probably just be 1 pixel tall and unreadable.

[–]diothar 0 points1 point ago

No, I mean put the same text on the image that actually has Pluto to scale.

[–]mattbluesman 0 points1 point ago

Thank you I was very curious

[–]bloodwire 0 points1 point ago

Pluto looks like a pea.

[–]DJUrsus -1 points0 points ago

Edit: Deleted.

[–]cryptorchidism 4 points5 points ago

It says "*1 pixel = 279.6 km" in the corner.

[–]Ph0X 32 points33 points ago

Just to be clear, I didn't actually use that because this metric is only correct if the image was at its original size. Instead of checking if the pixel ratio was correct and then using it, I simply used the fact that the radius of pluto is 18% that of Earth, since in this case earth was 38 pixel, and I ended up with 7 pixel for pluto.

[–]DJUrsus 4 points5 points ago

Ah, missed that.

[–]Pillzbox 1 point2 points ago

There's a version with a proper scale as well http://space-facts.com/the-planets-to-scale-true-colour/

[–]pluto 216 points217 points ago

...I just want to belong again. :(

[–]nardosmarbles 44 points45 points ago

Just looked through your comment history. You're a dedicated little planet... Oh wait - nevermind,

[–]alsothewalrus 29 points30 points ago

Dick move, man. Dick move.

[–]Linelor 69 points70 points ago

6 years 7 months. Damn.

[–]damian001 11 points12 points ago

Doesn't matter because he's not a planet anymore. Hell even I have more comment karma than he does.

[–]yoordoengitrong 7 points8 points ago

that's not fair. pluto's ping is pretty terrible, makes it hard to load reddit.

[–]verstand 4 points5 points ago

It's okay, you have loads of friends in the Kuiper Belt!

[–]PlutoISaPlanet 2 points3 points ago

I believe.

[–]Nomikos 1 point2 points ago

You'll always be a planet to me! <3

[–]thavi 5 points6 points ago

That completely ruined the infographic for me. All that work just to ruin it by not putting the damned thing in scale with the rest of the graphic.

[–]LoCHiF 12 points13 points ago

The "to scale" part is all wrong too.

Earth is ~12,750km in diameter. Jupiter is ~143,000km in diameter.

The whole thing is infuriating.

EDIT I got the colour of Neptune and the Earth mixed up. I'm infuriating. Fuck you, me.

[–][deleted] ago

[deleted]

[–]pluto 4 points5 points ago

Sooo funny... WE GET IT ALREADY, OKAY!?

[–]Jack9 -1 points0 points ago

I didn't get the joke and I feel bad.

[–]Warlaw 32 points33 points ago

[–]FOR_SClENCE 15 points16 points ago

Kuiper Belt objects don't get to be in the planet club. Especially ones that have five moons which are a considerable portion of their size.

[–]IceBreak 2 points3 points ago

which are a considerable portion of their size.

Kind of like Earth's moon? Yeah, 4:1 is a greater difference than 2:1 but both are comparable when compared with most other planets and their moons. I agree Pluto doesn't fit, but I don't feel moon proportion should really matter in the reasoning. If those moons did not exist would Pluto suddenly be more worthy of planet-hood?

[–]FOR_SClENCE 6 points7 points ago

The IAU definition of a planet necessitates that it clears its immediate area of all debris. In Earth's case, that meant creating the Moon.

[–]IceBreak 1 point2 points ago

A few more Chinese satellite crashes and we might have to rethink that...

[–]AndreasFrom 82 points83 points ago

Pluto's not a planet...

[–]joerdie 65 points66 points ago

And it shouldn't be! Pluto is much more interesting as a Dwarf Planet! Its orbit is awesome!

Edit: Silly grammar.

[–]tom_the_red 34 points35 points ago

Why is it that people are so mean to Ceres? Why does Pluto count so much more?

[–]spidyfan21 42 points43 points ago

Because we grew up with Pluto, its more sentimental.

[–]workpuppy 2 points3 points ago

Ceres was discovered in 1801. It was classed as a planet in textbooks until ~1850.

[–]joerdie 11 points12 points ago

Nothing is wrong with Ceres! But Pluto's orbit sometimes crosses inside of Neptune's! There is a bunch of other cool shit too but I am drunk and tired.

Ceres is cool and all but there is shit in our Lagrange Point that's about the same size. Though the fact that it's the largest body in the inner asteroid belt, (though not the Oort cloud,) does make it super cool!

Fuck I'm drunk.

[–]SaloonLeaguer 10 points11 points ago

Ceres is cool and all but there is shit in our Lagrange Point that's about the same size.

I don't think there is, but feel free to prove me wrong.

[–]loose-dendrite 7 points8 points ago

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_objects_at_Lagrangian_points#Sun.E2.80.93Earth_Lagrangian_points

Has satellites (trivially small) and this asteroid:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_TK7

Its diameter is 300m. Ceres' is about 3km. Unless 2010_TK7 is made entirely of Uranium or something, Ceres is much larger than everything in the Earth-Sun lagrange points.

[–]joerdie 2 points3 points ago

Yup. You are correct. Earth's L4 and L5 objects are much smaller than Ceres. Kids! This is why beer and science do not go well together.

[–]Shappie 1 point2 points ago

Nothing better than getting excited about astronomy while drunk! :D

[–]gordigor 1 point2 points ago

Based on your comment. Imagine what you can do when you're sober!

[–]Sicnarf111 0 points1 point ago

But Pluto's orbit sometimes crosses inside of Neptune's!

How, over the course of a few billion years, has this not resulted in a collision?

[–]grachasaurus 8 points9 points ago

Their orbits don't cross. Pluto's is at a different angle such that it is sometimes closer to the sun than Neptune. Their orbits never intersect. Think about it three-dimensionally

[–]thewiglaf 2 points3 points ago

Pluto's orbit is on a large incline compared to the plane of the orbits of the planets. So their paths don't necessarily cross. Here.

[–]joerdie 1 point2 points ago

When it happens, the two orbits are on different planes. Not only is Pluto's orbit highly elliptical, it is also tilted. Its inclination is over 17 degrees.

[–]YoureTheVest 1 point2 points ago

Pluto's orbit is in 2:3 resonance with Neptune's. For every two orbits of Pluto, Neptune goes around three times, and the cycle repeats. It just so happens that they're never very close to each other, and Pluto in fact comes closer to Uranus than it ever does to Neptune.

[–]drownballchamp 0 points1 point ago

Because they cross orbits for a few seconds every 120 years. It's just not very likely

[–]grachasaurus 1 point2 points ago

They don't cross orbits. See my comment to him.

[–]masterminder 2 points3 points ago

Because now my very educated mother has nothing to serve us.

[–]joerdie 1 point2 points ago

I am sure there is a much dirtier mnemonic device you can use that doesn't require a "P."

[–]daedalus733 0 points1 point ago

Or you could just remember them.

[–]joerdie 0 points1 point ago

But then there would be nothing to make me giggle like a tit mouse when I recall them each day.

[–]CockroachED 1 point2 points ago

To hell with your very educated mother, science progresses. We don't teach chemistry with the elements earth, air, water and fire. And Pluto shouldn't be considered a planet.

[–]Ghosttwo 1 point2 points ago

The interesting thing is that if you tell the IAU to screw off and define a planet as something that includes Pluto, then you'd have to add Eris since it's bigger than Pluto. So if you want Pluto to be a planet again, then we have at least 10 instead of the traditional 9 planets!

[–]joerdie 0 points1 point ago

Very true. I think most armchair astronomers are mad more because Pluto is what they grew up with. Tyson has said in interviews that people over 40 are still rather upset about the entire ordeal.

[–]Lolologist 0 points1 point ago

its

Look, not to be a jerk here or anything, but do you know how to use its/it's correctly? If not I can help.

[–]joerdie 0 points1 point ago

Yes I know the difference. I was typing fast and was inebriated. Will you, the grammar police, let me off with a warning? Ill show you my tits!

[–]Lolologist 1 point2 points ago

Well, it could get me in real deep with the precinct if I just let you go, but... aw heck, get outta here. And don't let me catch you throwing those apostrophes around again, y'hear?

[–]BluShine 7 points8 points ago

I think the more important question is: why is Pluto wandering away from the dwarf planet infographic?

[–]zworkaccount 6 points7 points ago

Which is the "joke" I guess.

[–]CannibalShinobi 1 point2 points ago

Yeah, just like how dwarfs are not people either, right?

[–]redwall_hp 0 points1 point ago

Everyone snubs the god of the underworld.

[–]rivea 0 points1 point ago

therein lies the funny

[–]Spanglegluppet 0 points1 point ago

Nor is it that big.

[–]Whilyam 27 points28 points ago

Just think, we can all fit inside Uranus. Heeeeyooo! *leaves*

[–]Sornos 27 points28 points ago

These jokes always make me a little sad considering the origin of the name Uranus. The naming of the planets went logically from the discovery of Jupiter. Jupiter being the biggest of the planets found so far was named after the king of the Gods. Beyond Jupiter was his father, Saturn. Beyond Saturn was his father Ouranos (or Uranus as it is so often spelled). Ouranos is the god of heaven. Literally. He is the skies in opposition to Gaea, the Earth. Such a powerful figure in mythology reduced to "lol ur anus" jokes.

[–]Torus2112 5 points6 points ago

Who the hell decided to stop calling it Ouranos?! They had to know what would happen, it's not some slang that changed since then, it's right there, "your anus"! I think it's a conspiracy to discredit Ouranos.

[–]peon47 2 points3 points ago

Because "Our anus" is so much better?

[–]SonOfTheLorax 1 point2 points ago

Ahem. Shouldn't that be "Our anuses"? Or "Our anii"? Or something other sort of Greco-roman bullshit?

I've only got one. I don't feel like sharing it with anyone.

[–]Claussm 0 points1 point ago

Greco-roman bullshit

Dead

[–]ZeMoose 0 points1 point ago

"Our anen."

[–]Torus2112 0 points1 point ago

It's a little better!

[–]Whilyam 2 points3 points ago

Honestly, me too. To be fair, though, Uranus is really just a big show off. "Ooh look at me, I'm spinning on my side, woo I'm mysterious" Plus Uranus screwed his mother, so...

[–]kalsyrinth 0 points1 point ago

Jupiter wasn't called Jupiter because it was the biggest - people didn't know how big it was when they named it, since Jupiter is one of the 5 visible planets.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jupiter#Mythology

[–]ArtemisOSX 10 points11 points ago

Pluto is way smaller than that

[–]crow1170 2 points3 points ago

From Google:

The diameter of Mercury is 4,879.4 km across, while Pluto's diameter is 2,360 km across.

Not just smaller, but about half the width of mercury. Including Pluto in this graphic would convey the idea that 'planet' is an outdated archetype.

[–]ArtemisOSX 1 point2 points ago

Exactly.

[–]SauerJosh 30 points31 points ago

TALKING ABOUT PLUTO IS SOOOO GEEKY GUISE, AMIRITE?

It's 2012, folks.

[–]IceBreak 26 points27 points ago

1990 called, it wanted its obnoxious year reference back.

[–]santaliqueur 6 points7 points ago

1994 called, it wants all of its jokes back about other years calling requesting things somehow.

[–]srry72 2 points3 points ago

2001 called, you guys sure dropped the ball on warning me.

[–]TheSkyNet 1 point2 points ago

OMG they did! did you tell them about all the horrible things that happened?

[–]IceBreak 0 points1 point ago

Nah, just the Pluto thing. Life needs mystery.

[–]daRoach 1 point2 points ago

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[–]tubbstosterone 18 points19 points ago

I am really tired of hearing about Pluto. Sure, when I heard it got demoted, I was disappointed, but then I went to college. Turns out Pluto is not unique, or interesting, or really anything like a planet. I'm mad it wasn't recategorized sooner. The moons of Jupiter are more like planets than Pluto.

[–]peon47 -1 points0 points ago

What college did you go to?

The moons of Jupiter orbit Jupiter. Pluto orbits The Sun. That alone makes it more of a planet.

[–]Democrab 2 points3 points ago

The College of Winterholm, so while he may not know as much as you about planets he can set you on fire. Be careful.

[–]LordQuagga 1 point2 points ago

In fact, he became the Archmage after like 3 hours of being there and he doesn't even use magic, really.

[–]tubbstosterone 4 points5 points ago

I go to the University of Alabama. There's a lot of random crap and debris orbiting the Sun. Considering that Pluto is just a hunk of ice and rock, it is more akin to comets, which also orbit the sun.

Pluto is a kuiper belt object. Also, Pluto is surrounded by 5 other kuiper belt objects. One of them, Charon, while smaller than Pluto, is relatively gigantic compared to every other moon in the solar system. Next, considering that Pluto is farther out than any planet, by current definition of a planet (concerning structure, density, and possible creation), it would need to be a) a gas giant, and b) far less dense than it is.

TL;DR: Yes, Pluto orbits the sun. So do comets and asteroids. Pluto has more in common with comets and asteroids than it does with planets such as Venus or Neptune.

[–]peon47 -1 points0 points ago

Considering that Pluto is just a hunk of ice and rock, it is more akin to comets, which also orbit the sun.

And some of the planets are made out of nothing but gas.

A planet's isn't just defined by what it's made of. It's also defined by its behaviour. And something that orbits Jupiter is in no way "more like a planet" than something that goes around the sun.

Found the IAU defintion:
(1) A "planet" is a celestial body that: (a) is in orbit around the Sun, (b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape, and (c) has cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit.

Nothing whatsoever to do with composition. The fact that it's made of a lot of ice is 100% irrelevant.

[–]obvioustroll 0 points1 point ago

Pluto appears to fail both (b) and (c).

Edit: I take that back - the most recent "maps" indicate that Pluto does, indeed, meet (b). I guess we'll find out for sure in 2015.

[–]peon47 0 points1 point ago

And "the moons of jupiter" fail (a) which I would say is more important to a planet's definition than (b) and (c) combined.

[–]obvioustroll -1 points0 points ago

I never claimed the moons of jupiter are planets; you're the one obsessing over ig.

[–]peon47 0 points1 point ago

Who said you did?

The moons of Jupiter are more like planets than Pluto.

That's the part of his post I was discussing.

[–]tubbstosterone 0 points1 point ago

The structure of Pluto has a lot to do with why it is no longer referred to as a planet. There are many objects, like Pluto, that also orbit the sun. These plutoids have very little in common with any of the other planets. Sure, it orbits the sun, sure it is large enough to maintain a bit of it's own gravity, but it has not cleared out it's orbit and it does not fit into the classifications of either a terrestrial or jovian planet.

The moons of Jupiter do in fact have more in common with planets than Pluto. Astronomers and Astrophysicists believe that most of the notable moons of Jupiter were formed in ways similar to that of the terrestrial planets. Likewise, the density of Jupiter's moons fall in line with the terrestrial planets. Therefore, the one real difference between the moons of Jupiter and the terrestrial planets is the focus of their orbit. Meanwhile, Pluto shares few characteristics with the Jovian and Terrestrial planets. It is not a fully formed planet and there are too many stellar bodies floating about in it's orbit for it to be considered a planet. Therefore, the moons of Jupiter (specifically Ganymede, Callisto, Io, and Europa) have more in common with planets (specifically the terrestrial planets) than Pluto.

[–]peon47 0 points1 point ago

The structure of Pluto has a lot to do with why it is no longer referred to as a planet.

Despite the IAU definition of a planet I quoted in the post above that makes no mention of the object's structure at all?

[–]tubbstosterone 0 points1 point ago

It becomes very important when you consider planetary formation theory. Downgrading Pluto fits the current planetary formation model, considering you can't have a fully formed non-gas giant that far out in the solar system.

[–]obvioustroll 0 points1 point ago

At last count, there are at least 50 objects similar to Pluto orbiting the sun at about the same distance Pluto does.

At least 20 have been given names.

Shall we add them all to the list of planets?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_trans-Neptunian_objects

Edit: The most recent data indicates that Pluto isn't even big enough to have formed a proper sphere - it's more like a very big asteroid than a planet. Shall we consider Ceres and Vesta to be planets, too?

[–]Shermanpk 2 points3 points ago

[–]avengepluto 2 points3 points ago

We'll have our day...

[–]Ganthiel 2 points3 points ago

Pluto diameter: 2322 km
Mercury diameter: 4879 km

Pluto would be less than half as wide as the smallest dot on the eight-planet infographic.

Stupid infographic is stupid.

[–]srry72 5 points6 points ago

Man. I remember when Pluto used to be cool with the geeks. You've changed Pluto. You used to be cool

[–]Brocerystore 3 points4 points ago

I was watching a little girl talk on a local morning show about how she wanted to be an astronaut when she grew up. She said the reasoning was because she knew all the planets, then, she proceeded to name them. All but Pluto. It was then I realized that she may not have any idea there is a Pluto. Poor Pluto. :(

[–]daedalus733 5 points6 points ago

Most kids probably don't know about Ceres, Haumea, Makemake, or Eris either. People talk about Pluto enough that she probably knew about it, but didn't have the illogical emotional attachment to its old label as a planet that many adults have.

[–]Brocerystore 0 points1 point ago

To be fair she was like 6 years old in Arizona education system, she probably had no idea about it.

[–]daedalus733 0 points1 point ago

But are you sad for Ceres, Haumea, Makemake, or Eris?

[–]ntorotn 0 points1 point ago

No, because they were never classified as planets.

What's so hard about this?

[–]daedalus733 0 points1 point ago

Ceres was.

[–]ntorotn 0 points1 point ago

Okay, but not in our lifetime.

[–]likwitsnake 7 points8 points ago

Pluto is icy debris, not a planet.

[–]turnerjer 1 point2 points ago

Pluto is the Syd Barrett of the Solar system.

[–]ThreeHolePunch 1 point2 points ago

It was a shitty infographic anyway, Pluto.

[–]Bike-o-king 0 points1 point ago

It's okay Pluto. I'm not a planet either

[–]obvioustroll 1 point2 points ago

Except Pluto would be even smaller than Mercury.

[–]PlutoISaPlanet 1 point2 points ago

ಠ_ಠ

[–]elvisliveson 0 points1 point ago

Interesting, a lot of planets fit in uranus.

[–]sirbob 1 point2 points ago

Too bad the Earth isn't the size of Uranus.

[–]kevoizjawesome 0 points1 point ago

Where does Planet X fit in on that scale?

[–]Camalonful 0 points1 point ago

Mary's very eager mother just sent us nine... Oh... Sad.

[–]Nomikos 0 points1 point ago

Search google images for "dear nasa".

[–]Iherduliekmudkipz 0 points1 point ago

That doesn't seem right.. I thought mars was a bit bigger, venus a bit smaller, and Saturn a bit smaller relative to Jupiter.. I may be thinking in terms of mass rather than volume, though

[–]obvioustroll 0 points1 point ago

The mass thing is the big difference between Saturn and Jupiter.

From what I've read, Jupiter's diameter apparently represents a hard limit for the size of a gas giant - until it actually reaches the point where it can sustain fusion, adding mass would make it more dense rather than making it larger in diameter.

Thus, Saturn is nearly as big as Jupiter even though it's practically a puff ball when you compare masses.

As for Mars and Venus - yeah, in terms of size Earth and Venus are much closer than Earth and Mars - but Venus has such a horrifically dense atmosphere that Mars is much, much easier to explore. I don't think we've ever even gotten a probe to survive more than a few seconds on the surface of Venus.

[–]randomb0y 0 points1 point ago

Reminds me of that really short colleague I had in college.

[–]MuseofRose 0 points1 point ago

Pluto the little runt that couldnt

[–]notjawn 0 points1 point ago

To be fair that is an awful infographic to begin with. Let's use similar hues to express different planets and then combine them all in one! GENIUS!

[–]Tebasaki 0 points1 point ago

So Pluto is a planet again? I thought it was a ball of ice. Maybe they'll keep switching sides like eggs being good for you or bad for you.

[–]normanhome 1 point2 points ago

No it still isn't. Go watch this :) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_2gbGXzFbs&feature=plcp

[–]redditspice 0 points1 point ago

pluto does not deserve to have planet status

the only reason you like it is because it shares the name of a cartoon animal, unfuck yourself

[–]edwin_on_reddit 0 points1 point ago

I haven't heard enough versions of this joke in the past five years. Thank goodness someone was willing to beat this dead horse once more!

[–]Eleminohp -1 points0 points ago

Earth is almost the size as Uranus...almost...

[–]rivea -1 points0 points ago

Notice where they put the four small planets...

[–]ilikeapples2 -1 points0 points ago

Hey, look! Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars can ALL fit in Uranus!

[–]Vegerot -1 points0 points ago

Fucking Neil DeGrasse Tyson

[–]polerix -1 points0 points ago

Uranus is HUGE!

[–]monkey3 -4 points-3 points ago

Real geeks know that Pluto is no longer a planet.

*awww, butthurts can't science. Q_Q

[–]Fradle -4 points-3 points ago

I was totally expecting this pluto.