Pluto is saved!

[speckled wood]

Now we need to sort out these frozen "gas" planets like Jupiter and saturn, lets be rid of 'em they are just big footballs, how you can you call a bag of wind a planet?

[speckled wood]

At the end of the day does it matter whether we call Pluto a planet or not, is Pluto going to be offended?

[Dan Salter]

Originally Posted by speckled wood

Now we need to sort out these frozen "gas" planets like Jupiter and saturn, lets be rid of 'em they are just big footballs, how you can you call a bag of wind a planet?

I agree and have always thought this.

[ogwen]

Originally Posted by speckled wood

Now we need to sort out these frozen "gas" planets like Jupiter and saturn, lets be rid of 'em they are just big footballs, how you can you call a bag of wind a planet?

They're not even footballs! Try kicking one, your foot would just go right through it .

Seriously though, I agree.

[Beryl]

Jupiter is probably a small sun waiting to happen

[carlos_dfc]

Originally Posted by Beryl

Jupiter is probably a small sun waiting to happen

The lowest possible mass for a star is about 75 Jupiter masses - less mass than that and it doesn't have enoght gravity to compress it's core to the point where it starts fusing hydrogen into helium.

There is an in-between state, called a 'Brown dwarf' between about 15 and 75 Jupiter masses.
These do generate heat by compression, but don't have the neccesary mass to become a bona-fide star.