Vakkotaur

Tonight is nearly the peak of the Perseid meteor shower, so if you have good weather and reasonably dark skies you might want to stay up a bit later, or get up much earlier to see them.

Of the two recent definitions of (major) planet, I find I don't really mind either one. The first one, which would have made Pluto and Charon a double planet system, returned planet status to Ceres, and made planets of a few objects not yet formally named was reasonable. That it would make planets of a good many things bothered some, but it was a fairly simple definition.

The second definition, that required not only that an object have enough mass for gravity to make them spheroid, but also that they the space near their orbits of the majority of other bodies (or capture them as satellites or trojans) is also a sensible definition. This changes Pluto from a (major) planet to a "dwarf planet" and I'm not sure what "minor planet" means, if anything, with this definition.

While either definition is pretty reasonable, the means of the second one being adopted makes it suspect. There was a conference with well over a thousand in attendance, but the second definition was held on the last day when many had already left and only 424 voted. That bothers not only me, but others whose opinion probably actually matters in this.

It's been pointed out that Ceres was also called a (major) planet for a while, until more objects were discovered that were similar and the term asteroid invented for the group. There are objects similar to Pluto and Pluto is an oddball compared to the major planets. Its orbit is quite inclined relative to the plane of the ecliptic and its orbit is quite eccentric. While many texts will need re-writing and much fiction will seem dated, that is hardly a new circumstance. I like what someone suggested for how to consider Pluto. Rather than get too upset by Pluto losing major planet status, consider that it joins an even more exclusive group, that of the planets emeritus.

I was up, for a few minutes anyway, early enough to see jmaynard just as he left on his way to his second appearance on the Jimmy Kimmel live show. I think I was more nervous about his appearance than he was.

That evening I recall being rather tired but not napping, determined to stay up and see if I could spot comet NEAT* since it was in an easy-to-find spot for me and the sky actually was going to remain clear. Around 10:00 PM or so I went out and did see it, at least with binoculars. I also looked at a few other objects in the sky and pondered a(nother) telescope again. I suppose I need to make up a list of stuff I think I need and get one item each week.

I spotted tenax on IM and confirmed I had his phone number and gave him a call. We geeked out for far too long. So long I saw Jay's appearance on the Kimmel show, twice (two stations air it at different times) but have yet to hear it.

Slept late, or tried to on Saturday. Napped on Saturday. Cleaned out the inside of the car, including the trunk, and got most of it taken care of. As usual with cleaning, a spot or two was missed. I did find four pocket combs that had gone missing in the last few years. They have since been washed for future re-use.

Sunday, well, another nap after noon. I did finish making up a couple audio tapes for the RCFM trip. I think the tape deck I have near the computer is a bit off-balance, but the tape will do for this and I'll compensate with the balance control in the car.

I checked out one tape some and went out to find supper and, in act of suicidal insanity, stopped at McDonald's for the double cheeseburger. I am still recovering from that mistake. It's a mistake I will not be making again.

I stayed up long enough to see Jay when he got back from his trip. That was pretty much the weekend. Despite my intentions of Friday, I didn't get anything much done on COLT and it feels like slept the weekend away, even if I did get a couple things done.

Next weekend will be taking care of most what I can for RCFM, and maybe visiting my sister. The weekend after, then I'll probably have reason to be tired.

* Mini-rant: Why are comets now named for the instrument or program that was used to detect them rather than the people who actually found them? It's like naming it "Comet Celestron" or "Comet Meade" rather than the person(s) using the device. If it's meant as, say, "NEAT Imaging Team" then I'd understand it, but I have yet to see that. I don't know of any spacecraft that has sent back a message, "I found a comet." The machines send back data which is interpreted by people.

It was mostly clear last night so the eclipse was visible. Drove south of town and watched the moon emerge from some clouds and slowly slip into the umbra. A nice quiet, relaxing time - aside from the odd car going by and the light that came with that. The fully eclipsed moon seemed darker and less orange than I recall from other lunar eclipses. I suspect that is due to finally seeing an eclipse without all the dust of a recent big volcanic eruption.

Came home and the moon was finally over the trees and such, if I was in the right place. Saw the end of totality out the bedroom window.

As for other things...

Q: What should be the theme song of the Texas Democrat[ic] Party?

A: Slade's Run Run. "All things to everyone, run, run, away"