Talk:Pioneer 10
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Leaving the Solar System
I contend that the statement that Pioneer was the first to leave the Solar System when it passed the orbit of Neptune is incorrect as the boundary of the solar system is now said to be the Oort Cloud which presumably Pioneer 10 won't reach for some years to come. 23skidoo 18:42, 11 Dec 2004 (UTC)
- I think you're both right and wrong. Yes "orbit of the outermost planet" is a pretty dated definition. On the other hand, the Oort Cloud isn't a universally-accepted boundary either -- many prefer the heliopause. In any case, definitions of astronomical terms like "boundary of the solar system" and even "planet" are subjects of heated debate, and we shouldn't insist that one particular definition is the only correct one. I've reworded the statement to reflect that fact. ---Isaac R 16:47, 26 Apr 2005 (UTC)
whats the dif.
The Pioneer Plaque page states the following:
"The mean time for the spacecraft to come within 30 astronomical units of a star is longer than the current age of the galaxy."
However, this page states the spacecraft is heading toward Aldebaran, and will reach it in 2 million years.
-jcrocker
- No contradiction -- 30 AUs is 30 times the distance of the earth from the sun, about the size of the orbit of Neptune. That's a tiny distance in galactic terms. Aldebaran is 68 lightyears away, which translates to 4 million AUs. On that scale, a flyby can be thousands of AUs from the target and still count as a near miss! ---Isaac R 17:21, 26 Apr 2005 (UTC)
OK, so it doesn't contradict because we will consider "reaching Aldebaran" to include distances over 30 AUs? Hmmm, ok... so what are the boundaries? The Ort cloud? The heliopause of a star?
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
Would adding a reference to the movie "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" be appropriate? Pioneer 10 is depicted in this movie. (See last paragraph of http://www.memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Pioneer_10 ) 66.92.165.123 10:31, 26 Apr 2005 (UTC)
- Why not? Lots of Wikipedia articles contain similar references. However, I'd put it in a separate section called "Fictional References". And crosslink the article on the movie. ¶ Unless an article is long or controversial, there's no reason to be hesitant about making small additions yourself. You might want to read Be bold in updating pages.
"Outermost Planet"
Matterson52 made a change that seems to reflect a misunderstanding of the article text and misinformation about the planet Pluto. Calling Neptune "the outermost planet" has nothing to do with the discovery of Pluto, which occurred some 38 years earlier. It has to do with the fact that Neptune was, at the time, closer to the Sun than Pluto.
