2006-08-06 06:34:27 · 8 answers · asked by MTN E 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Geography
Just within the past 10 years, astronomers have discovered well over a hundred planets in orbit around stars beyond our own Sun. I'm not sure what the other answerer was talking about, but discovering planets is no longer front-page news, unless other factors make it "special", e.g., gravitation, orbit size, planet mass.
2006-08-06 06:46:37 · answer #1 · answered by MrEkitten 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You didn't specify if you meant only in our solar system. So...
We're still debating what a "planet" really is...we can't classify them the way we can rocks. This is a problem. Therefore, some will say 9 planets, some will say 10 in our system.
Overall, we got about 150 new planets identified in around 120 planetary systems (orbiting other stars). Right now, the technology only lets us identify the Jupiter-sized worlds, but that will change as the new technology comes on-line. The HST isn't too useful for this since its optics were designed to look 'far' but not in great magnification---that is, we can see distant galaxies with the HST, but not the Apollo landing sites on the moon.
Do a google search using: "extrasolar planets" to get more info.
2006-08-07 12:52:58 · answer #2 · answered by stevenB 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
10
2006-08-06 18:15:40 · answer #3 · answered by meno25 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
10
2006-08-06 06:43:13 · answer #4 · answered by vishak 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This isn't a complicated question folks...the answer is still nine. (It's pretty clear the "we" is not referring to extrasolar planets.)
That could change this fall when the International Astronomical Union meets to discuss the very issue of defining a planet. Until their ruling, nothing has changed...and none of the recent discoveries are as yet called planets. My personal prediction is that Pluto will remain a "planet" by romantic default, but that all the new discoveries will be classified as Kuiper Belt Objects (also known as trans-Neptunian objects).
2006-08-08 05:36:12 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The thing is, we don't call them planets.
First off, Pluto is still disputed by some as to whether it fits the bill for the qualifications of planets, so we might have 8.
That aside, we keep discovering things either outside the orbit of pluto but much larger than pluto itself, or something inside the orbit of pluto that we just haven't seen before.
But just like how Puerto Rico doesn't make America have 51 states, we're not ready to call these things planets yet.
2006-08-06 06:38:16 · answer #6 · answered by ymingy@sbcglobal.net 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
dont we still have 9 planets?
2006-08-09 22:35:59 · answer #7 · answered by eamane_t999 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In our solar system, still nine, bud.
2006-08-06 12:27:26 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋