On Friday March 27th in Dunsink Observatory, Brother Guy Consomagno (Vatican Astronomer) will give a talk entitled
“Pluto and Planets X: Is Pluto a Planet? And Why Does It Matter?”
Some 15 years ago, the first “trans-Neptunian Object” besides Pluto was discovered. Within the past five years, a rush of new discoveries has revealed a number of bodies whose size rivals that of Pluto. What are these objects? Where did they come from, and what can they tell us about the origin and evolution of the solar system? How are these objects found, and why they only being discovered now? Finally, are they indeed new planets? Who gets to say, and how is this determined? What did the IAU finally decide at its General Assembly in 2006, and how was that decision reached? Observing these objects, and observing their observers, is a revealing story in both the science and politics of planetary astronomy.
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Last Updated: 22nd March 2016 by Anne Grace
2009-03-27 – Pluto and Planets X: Is Pluto a Planet? And Why Does It Matter?
On Friday March 27th in Dunsink Observatory, Brother Guy Consomagno (Vatican Astronomer) will give a talk entitled
“Pluto and Planets X: Is Pluto a Planet? And Why Does It Matter?”
Some 15 years ago, the first “trans-Neptunian Object” besides Pluto was discovered. Within the past five years, a rush of new discoveries has revealed a number of bodies whose size rivals that of Pluto. What are these objects? Where did they come from, and what can they tell us about the origin and evolution of the solar system? How are these objects found, and why they only being discovered now? Finally, are they indeed new planets? Who gets to say, and how is this determined? What did the IAU finally decide at its General Assembly in 2006, and how was that decision reached? Observing these objects, and observing their observers, is a revealing story in both the science and politics of planetary astronomy.
Category: Astronomy and Astrophysics Section News & Events
Big thank you to @MartinaPQuinn of @helloalicepr for moderating the discussion, and of course to our panel @NeasaMcG @CormacORafferty and @laoneill111
@CormacORafferty "to cut yourself off from fundamental research means you could miss out on some of the biggest ideas"
@laoneill "it's our job as researchers to keep reminding governments how important basic research is" "For Dev basic research being carried out in Ireland was a badge of pride"
@NeasaMcG Schrödinger's work in causality was not well received by the religious authorities at the time At the same time DIAS did have Catholic priests working on research projects in the early days, so there was not the conflict you might think between science and religion
@laoneill111 Schrödinger was very popular in social circles in Dublin, a bit of a renaissance man
@CormacORafferty Schrödinger was gifted at explaining difficult concepts
@CormacORafferty on how unsuccessful work, in Schrödinger's case, unified field theory, is just as important part of science. And no one has managed to crack it yet! And not forgetting the cat
@laoneill111 how Schrödinger's book inspired scientists to change fields and result in the finding of the double helix.
@NeasaMcG explaining how DIAS came about and how Schrödinger was attracted to Ireland #DIASdiscovers
Panel Discussion getting underway! @laoneill111 @CormacORafferty @NeasaMcG @MartinaPQuinn
We're half way through the documentary... Join us for the rest and the fascinating discussion to follow DM for link
@Stella15882 @NeasaMcG @HistFest @lukeoneil47 @CormacORafferty @MartinaPQuinn Stella, send me an email. I'll get a link to you communications@dias.ie
Starting in just over an hour we have limited tickets left for tonights broadcast and panel discussion. Get your free ticket now twitter.com/DIAS_Dublin/st…
Culture Night 2020 Booking Links! - Virtual Tour of DIAS Dunsink Observatory: eventbrite.ie/e/118043576515 - Earthquakes and other Geohazards: eventbrite.ie/e/earthquakes-… - Taifeadaí Cartlainne ó Scoil an Léinn Cheiltigh: eventbrite.ie/e/taifeadai-ca… Join us from 5pm! #CultureNight2020
@dias_geophysics have developed something special for @galway2020 in collaboration with composer David Stalling. It is an audio-visual composition “Palace of Ships,” based on sounds, images and seismic data from DIAS’ @SEA_SEIS Expeditions. More: dias.ie/2020/09/14/dia…
Meet some of our panelists for tomorrows discussion on the impact and legacy of the work carried out by Erwin Schroedinger during his time in Ireland as our first Director of Theoretical Physics Grab a free ticket here: eventbrite.ie/e/115984908985