So, Pluto is by far my favorite Kuiper Belt object. And at the time I made this picture, it was in the middle of getting some much-needed recognition, and thankfully recognition that transcended its ever-controversial classification as a "dwarf planet". Indeed, Pluto was about to be passed by the New Horizons satellite, which is now, by far, my second favorite Kiuper Belt object. You've probably heard about the pictures New Horizons took of Pluto, and being a fan of the universe's one and only ex-planet, I decided to draw a picture of my top four favorite Kuiper belt objects as the second part of my mini-concentration of "space" (the other one being the deorbit of the ISS). This is actually my first proper digital painting, and it went by without nearly as much frustration or phantom limb syndrome as I was expecting. During this process the thought crossed my mind that if I showed a 12th century artist how I was scratching on a tablet made of manufactured metal and petroleum byproducts in order to make an image on another glowing tablet of a celestial body that is A) not a planet B) not a star and C) impossible to see without telescopes at least the size of buildings, they would probably say, "What is a telescope?" or "Wherefore am I here?" or they would just die from sensory overload because technology has advanced more in seven hundred years than it has for the rest of human history and that's a lot to take in. The real question worth asking, however, is "is Pluto a planet?" Of course it is. The way I see it, a dwarf planet is by all means planet. To say a "dwarf planet" is not a "planet" is like saying a "person with dwarfism" is not a "person"; preposterous. Besides, all that needs to happen for Pluto to be reinstated as a planet is for it to become the dominant source of gravity in its region. This can easily be done with a nuclear blast of the magnitude of several hundred Tsar Bombas onto Pluto's largest moon, Charon (by far my third favorite Kuiper belt object, but sacrifices have to be made sometimes) propelling it away from the premises to the point at which it will no longer influence Pluto's gravity. If I ever find myself with the launch codes to a large enough nuclear arsenal, this would be the first thing I would do. |
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AuthorIf the superhero Static Shock touched a dime to an outlet, would he be shocked? Archives
April 2016
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