Dispatches from International Astronomical Union

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

The Earth has Mini Moons!
Perhaps Dozens.
Robert Jedicke will search for them from the Subaru Observatory on Mauna Kea over the next year:

Typically no larger than a washing machine, mini moons are temporarily caught by Earth’s gravity. Beach ball-sized mini moons buzz around Earth by the dozen, like a swarm of interplanetary gnats, while dump truck-sized asteroids swing by once every 50 years or so.
http://gizmodo.com/there-may-be-dozens-o...1722363225

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

Protesters at the IAU meeting in Honolulu ask for a panel at the conference:

"We approached them a week ago and asked for just one panel. One panel in this conference, where we could bring these issues in front of this body and we were denied," said Jonathan Osorio of Mauna a Wakea.


The conference was planned six years ago:

"We refused to alter the program of the conference. But we are considering the possibility of meeting them in a separate room and discussing privately with them," said Piero Benvenuti of the University of Padua.

Then a protester compares the TMT to slavery. (on the video)
http://www.kitv.com/news/tmt-opposition-...e/34541442

More on the Mauna Kea protest at the IAU as reported by Nature Magazine:
http://www.nature.com/news/hawaiian-tele...ng-1.18125

[TomK]

"The conference was planned six years ago:"

The conference was indeed planned many years ago, but the deadlines for various submissions, e.g., contributed talks, splinter sessions, posters and stalls were only a few months ago, some as recently as June this year. All these deadlines were available via the IAU website. If anyone missed them, astronomer or protester, they are out of luck. They had years to prepare.

If I was a little more cynical, I might just think asking for a last-minute change to an enormous conference which took years of planning was done deliberately in order to attract attention knowing there was no chance of success.

[kimo wires]

These protesters ought to call themselves the "Knee Jerks".

The late entrances and lack of preparedness just makes them look dumb and dumber.

[TomK]

A quote by Williamson B.C. Chang, Professor of Law, University of Hawaii at Manoa, from:

http://sacredmaunakea.com/2015/06/28/haw...haleakala/

"There was an opportunity to organize “splinter meetings that might have been used to provide different views on the Mauna Kea and Haleakala controversies:”

“The IAU General Assembly provides the opportunity for you to hold public or private splinter meetings at the meeting venue in Honolulu, Hawaii.”

“Sacred Mauna Kea”, and many other groups, from around the world, would love to organize and participate in splinter meetings, but guess what— the deadline for creating such splinter meetings, June 15, 2015, has passed.
How can this happen? What happened to principle of transparency? Of a forthcoming government?"

No opportunity? Really? There were years of opportunity.

[TomK]

PS. I'd like to receive information now so I am able to prepare and submit a contribution to whatever convention, conference or discussions will occur regarding this forthcoming government. I would hate to leave it too late and be denied from participating. Anyone know how to do this?

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

PS. I'd like to receive information... regarding this forthcoming government.

Yes, I would too, and I hope they announce it six or seven years in advance.

It does seem that the protestors are shocked every time they've missed a deadline to submit documentation or register for a meeting. If there is a conference to discuss the Hawaiian Kingdom I can only imagine some of these same people will arrive as a splinter group at the last minute and claim that once again their views are being ignored.

As Woody Allen may have said:
Ninety percent of success is just showing up.

I might add, "on time."

[HiloPuna]

That's a clown car of characters clamoring for attention. Chang is a charlatan, much like Sai. The fact that he is a tenured professor brings disrepute on the University . Osorio has been a windbag forever, but at least he doesn't teach law or perfect title for fees.

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

The votes are in, and on August 11th the IAU will announce new exoplanet names, voted on by the public:

The "Name the Exoworlds" campaign, created by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), gave the public the opportunity to vote on new names for stars and planets in 20 exoplanet systems. The results of the campaign will be announced on Aug. 11 at the IAU's 29th General Assembly meeting here in Honolulu, Hawaii.

http://www.space.com/30157-exoplanet-nam...t-iau.html

[TomK]

I didn't vote, but think "New Pluto" would be quite appropriate for one of those exoplanets, or perhaps "Tombaugh".