The Solar System

I am an astronomy geek. However, where a lot of these awesome people spend time at night stargazing, I'm not that kind of astronomy geek. Instead for me it's all about planets. Ever since I was a kid, I remember being fascinated with other planets. I'm sure some of it was because I was born a year before the Voyager launch, so on occasion I heard about what Voyager I & II were doing during my formative years. Clear pictures of the gas giants became available right at the time that my interest was peaked, and I've been hooked ever since.

The gas giants are beautiful, and really cool. The rock inner planets are total awesomeness; Mars is just totally cool. Venus and Mercury are wicked hot. It's cool just how often Mars shows up in 50's and 60's science fiction, and just how totally off base the writers were about it. The same thing goes for Venus too, but not as many writers were willing to give it a chance, but those who did pictured it as a steamy jungle. Steamy indeed.

Moons have been good source material too. Callisto and Titan have both been the focus of good books that I have read. I think I've even read a series that revolves around Amelthea (Look it up). But still, the recent planetary coolness has been about two things: Dwarf and Extrasolar Planets.

Extrasolar planets are cool, but since direct observation is still a long way away, this isn't as cool as it could be yet. Dwarf Planets on the other hand are really cool. Looking for Dwarf Planets is kinda a new frontier in astronomy. Newly discovered objects like Sedna, Quaoar, Varuna, Ixion and Orcus might soon join the new classification of Dwarf planets, like Eris, Pluto, Ceres, Makemake and Haumea. Makemake and Haumea were just added to the official list of Dwarf planets this year and there remains a little controversy dealing with the friction between the IAU (International Astronomers Union) and everyday people about what should be or shouldn't be a planet. Everybody feels sorry for Pluto though.

This picture today is an artists rendition of Eris and Dysnomia. I'm sure more observation will be forthcoming, and we will be hearing about new candidates and official additions that will make this an interesting subject for years to come.

Oh, BTW, kinda making this a Science Theme Week. Planning another theme week some time in the future, so you can look forward to it.