Astro Boy

Walang relasyon si Astro Boy sa entry na ito, astronomy news ito! Hindi ko makukuha ang atensyon mo, kung hindi ko ginawa iyon..

Ang mga napapanahong balitang pang-astromoniya:

(1)Pluto, hindi na itinuturing planeta

Napagkasunduan ng mga eksperto ang pagpatupad ng mga kategorya sa pagiging planeta, kung kaya't walo na lamang ang planeta. Panibagong pagtuturo na naman at matatagalan pa ang pagpalit ng nilalaman ng mga aklat.

Much-maligned Pluto doesn't make the grade under the new rules for a planet: "a celestial body that is in orbit around the sun, has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a ... nearly round shape, and has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit."

Pluto is automatically disqualified because its oblong orbit overlaps with Neptune's.

Instead, it will be reclassified in a new category of "dwarf planets," similar to what long have been termed "minor planets." The definition also lays out a third class of lesser objects that orbit the sun - "small solar system bodies," a term that will apply to numerous asteroids, comets and other natural satellites.

(2)Mars, hindi totoong lumalapit

Kumakalat sa mga text messages at e-mails ang balitang ngayong buwan ang pinakamalapit na distansya ng planetang Mars sa Earth, na makikita ito sa kalangitan na kasinglaki ng buwan.

The problem is that "August 27th" is actually August 27, 2003. Mars did make a historically close pass by Earth at that time, and when magnified 75 times in a telescope, it looked (in the telescope) the size the Moon looks to the unaided eye. But that qualifier has long been lost from some versions of the chain letter.

Ironically, in late August 2006 Mars cannot be seen at all; it's hidden behind the glare of the Sun. In any case, to the naked eye Mars always looks like a star, not the full Moon.