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Originally Posted by hhEb09'1
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OK, I see the problem. You are missing the obvious. As you correctly point out, the calculation that Stern used is based on the planet's mass and period.
How exactly does an orbiting body accumulate its mass? Think about that.
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Your perspective is wrong, as should be evident from Stern's reaction. Instead, you jump to conclusions, and accuse him of base behavior, rather than investigating the situation.
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I disagree. And besides, every individual scientist is capable of base behavior. We are all human and ultimately driven by personal motivations. The beauty of science is that the community at large can self-correct out the biases of individual scientists.
Mike Brown, in a moment of scientific weakness, conceded that science should just give up on a definition and let popular culture decide what is a planet. He was roundly criticized in this forum, by me and others, for taking that position. To his great credit, he has accepted the demotion of 2003 UB313 with class and moved on to more important issues.