Why Isn't Pluto a Planet Any More?

Is it there? Did it disappear? Was it destroyed?

A common question with lots of wrong answers is the status of Pluto. After many years of discussions, scientists around the world decided to create a new category for the new bodies found similar to Pluto. They named them dwarf planets. You see, Pluto's characteristics are very different from the other solar system planets.

1. It is mainly made of ice instead of rock or gas.
2. Its orbit is very different to the other planets. (this is called a different eccentricity by astronomers)
3.It's just too far away.

There are currently 4 other dwarf planets: Ceres, Eris, Haumea, and MakeMake.

Hope this video might help you understand a little bit more.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqX2YdnwtRc

An epic disaster on the Gulf of Mexico...

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill, also called the BP Oil Spill, or the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, is a massive ongoing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, now considered the largest offshore spill in U.S. history. The spill stems from a sea floor oil gusher that followed the April 20, 2010 Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion. The gusher, estimated to be flowing at 12,000 to 100,000 barrels (500,000 to 4,200,000 US gallons; 1,900,000 to 16,000,000 litres) per day.


As of May 30, dead animals collected from the oil spill zone included 491 dead birds, 227 sea turtles, and 27 mammals including dolphins, although according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service these animals have not been determined to have been killed by the oil. Samantha Joye of the University of Georgia indicated that the oil could harm fish directly, and microbes used to consume the oil would also add to the reduction of oxygen in the water, with effects being felt higher up the food chain. According to Joye, it could take the ecosystem years and possibly decades to recover from such an infusion of oil and gas.





This disaster is a reminder for humans to understand how our actions can affect the environment.

Giant (I mean Giant!!!) Sinkhole Pierces Guatemala

A huge sinkhole in Guatemala City (map), Guatemala, crashed into being on Sunday, reportedly swallowing a three-story building—and echoing a similar, 2007 sinkhole in Guatemala.

The sinkhole has likely been weeks or even years in the making—floodwaters from tropical storm Agatha caused the sinkhole to finally collapse, scientists say.

The sinkhole appears to be about 60 feet (18 meters) wide and about 30 stories deep, said James Currens, a hydrogeologist at the University of Kentucky.

A ruptured sewer line is thought to have caused the sinkhole that appeared in Guatemala City in 2007.

The 2010 Guatemala sinkhole could have formed in a similar fashion, Currens said. A burst sanitary or storm sewer may have been slowly saturating the surrounding soil for a long time before tropical storm Agatha added to the inundation.

Depending on the makeup of the subsurface layer, the Guatemala sinkhole "could eventually enlarge and take in more buildings," he said.

Typically, officials fill in sinkholes with large rocks and other debris. But the 2010 Guatemala sinkhole "is so huge that it's going to take a lot of fill material to fill it," Currens said.

"I don't know what they're going to do."

For more info and pics, check here---

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/06/photogalleries/100601-sinkhole-in-guatemala-2010-pictures-world/#guatemala-city-sinkhole-2010-aerial-close_21124_600x450.jpg

Scientists discover frog with inflating nose

Scientists have discovered a "treasure trove of new species" including a frog with a "Pinocchio-like" nose in a remote section of Indonesian rainforest in Southeast Asia.

The male tree frog, whose pointed nose was seen to inflate when calling, was one of dozens of new species found on an expedition to the Foja Mountains in the Papua province of Indonesia in New Guinea Island, organized by Conservation International's Rapid Assessment Program (RAP).

Leanne Alonso, director of RAP, told CNN: "It's a frog which goes up trees and lays its eggs on undersides of leaves. Its nose is probably inflating to call females. Usually frogs inflate under the throat when they call."

The frog, along with new species of mammals, insects, a reptile and birds were discovered on a 2008 expedition but have only recently been verified.

They include a "blossom bat" which feeds on rainforest nectar, a new type of small tree-mouse and a black and white butterfly related to the common monarch.

Scientists also discovered the world's smallest wallaby, a pair of new imperial pigeons with "rusty, whitish and gray" feathers, a giant woolly rat and a "gargoyle-like" gecko with yellow eyes.

The Foja Mountains are home to 300,000 square hectares of pristine rainforest which is "a profound species generator" and a "critical carbon-sink for the planet," says Conservation International (CI).

"The area is probably holds the highest number of species we haven't found yet. It's so isolated, and every time we go there we find new species," Alonso said.

For more info click here...

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/05/17/biodiversity.new.species.foja/index.html?hpt=C2

Mother Nature is kinda angry lately....

Hailstones (granizo) are pieces of ice so big, that cannot float anymore so they fall to the ground as precipitation. They will only appear during a heavy storm. And this is exactly what happened this week in Arizona. Check this video to see what happens when baseball-sized hailstones fall on a swimming pool.

http://news.yahoo.com/video/us-15749625/hail-storm-hits-oklahoma-19917666

Yeahp- that's a big OMG!

Harpy Eagle Family Day

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Today at Parque Soberania (Summit) the Harpy Eagle Family Day was held. It was a great experience in which you could see and learn many aspects of this fantastic species; Like for instance, there was a video that showed the main prey of the Harpy Eagle...a poor Sloth (perezoso). The day was sunny (really hot!) and lots of people of all ages were there having a nice day in nature. Besides learning about the Harpy Eagle, there was a lot of information about recycling, conservation, and of course there was the park itself, which is a good place to go camping and enjoy a day in nature. Here are some photos of the Harpy Eagle and a link to learn more about the Harpy Eagle in Panama.

P.s. Did you know that the Harpy Eagle is the national bird of Panama and is depicted on the coat of arms (escudo nacional) of Panama?




http://www.aguilaharpia.org/index.html

New species of Dinosaur discovered.

A group of paleontologists in Utah, U.S.A. discovered a new species of dinaosaurs. The "Abydosaurus" belongs to the same family of the Brachiosaurus. Paleontologists recovered four intact skulls of these species (which is a rarity; skulls of these species are usually damaged). For more info read here:http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100223161829.htm

Did you know?

...that the spacecraft New Horizons will reach Pluto on July 14th, 2015? It was launched on January 19, 2006 and its mission includes the study of Pluto, its 3 moons and a group of bodies found beyond Pluto known as Kuiper Belt Objects. It received a Jupiter gravity assist which increased its speed to an incredible 16.6 km/s (kilometers per second)!

After studying Puto, the New Horizons will study some Kuiper Belt Objects between 2016 and 2020. It will leave the solar system on 2029.

For more info check this link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Horizons

Did you Know?...

...that the Echidna is one of the two mammals that can lay eggs? Their diet consists largely of ants and termites and they usually live in Australia and New Guinea. Their body is covered with hair and spines.They belong to the order Monetremata which means that they lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young like most mammals. Do you know which is the other mammal that lays eggs?

Hello there,

Welcome aboard Kids :)

On Planet Science 2010 you will be able to discover and research all kinds of Science related topics. Keep coming back every now and then for more information. Have a nice day!

:=)