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Nearly 2,500 astronomers from 75 countries gathered in Prague Monday to come up with a universal definition of what qualifies as a planet and possibly decide whether Pluto should keep its planet status
Media Release
Aug. 14, 2006
Nearly 2,500 astronomers from 75 countries gathered in Prague Monday to come up with a universal definition of what qualifies as a planet and possibly decide whether Pluto should keep its planet status.
For decades, the solar system has consisted of nine planets, even as scientists debated whether Pluto really belonged. Then the recent discovery of an object larger and farther away than Pluto threatened to throw this slice of the cosmos into chaos.
Among the possibilities at the 12-day meeting of the International Astronomical Union in the Czech Republic capital: Subtract Pluto or christen one more planet, and possibly dozens more.
But the decision won''t be an easy one. Scientists attending the conference are split over whether Pluto should be excluded from the list of planets, Pavel Suchan of the meeting's local organization committee said.
TECHNOLOGY ARTICLES
Nearly 2,500 astronomers from 75 countries gathered in Prague Monday to come up with a universal definition of what qualifies as a planet and possibly decide whether Pluto should keep its planet status
Media Release
For decades, the solar system has consisted of nine planets, even as scientists debated whether Pluto really belonged. Then the recent discovery of an object larger and farther away than Pluto threatened to throw this slice of the cosmos into chaos.
READ MORE>>
Thailand to provide low-cost laptop computers to all of Thailand's millions of elementary school students
Media Release
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has announced that an ambitious project to provide low-cost laptop computers to all of Thailand's millions of elementary school students will begin in October.
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Stronger hurricanes forecast for the next few decades could flood major cities including Miami and New Orleans : Environmental Scientists
Media Release
Storm surges -- walls of water up to 30 feet high pushed ashore by hurricanes -- could pose a higher risk to coastal areas than the threat of rising seas tied to global warming, scientists from the group Environmental Defense said.
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The University of California has joined Google Inc.'s bid to scan the book collections of the world's great libraries
Media Release
The University of California has joined Google Inc.'s bid to scan the book collections of the world's great libraries, the organizations said Tuesday, marking renewed momentum for a project nearly derailed by stiff resistance from publishers.
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Microsoft Corp. on Tuesday released 12 security fixes for its Windows operating system and Office business software.
Media Release
Microsoft Corp. on Tuesday released 12 security fixes for its Windows operating system and Office business software.
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AOL confesses a gesture to researchers amounted to a privacy breach and a mistake
Media Release
AOL released the Internet search terms that more than 650,000 of its subscribers entered over a three-month period and admitted Monday that what it originally intended as a gesture to researchers amounted to a privacy breach and a mistake.
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MTV has struck a partnership with Google in which the internet company will distribute the music video broadcaster’s video programming
Media Release
Some of the content the company will make available includes video clips from MTV’s Laguna Beach reality programme and its popular video music awards show as well as the Nickelodeon cartoon...
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