Remember when I said that Pluto was still a planet? Apparently, I was wrong.
Astronomers debating Pluto's future as a planet Thursday were forced to choose between science and culture.Culture lost.
More than 75 years after its discovery by Clyde Tombaugh, Pluto has been booted from the fraternity of planets in defiance of grade-school textbooks.
It's not a decision astronomers wanted to make, but one many felt increasingly forced to make. In recent years they have found a dizzying array of planet-like objects in the outer solar system including one, nicknamed Xena, that's bigger than the former ninth planet.
The question was whether Xena and a host of other solar system objects should become planets. If not, however, Pluto must be disqualified, too.
"It would be disastrous for astronomy if we come away from the general assembly with nothing," said Michael Rowan-Robinson, president of the United Kingdom's Royal Astronomical Society, shortly before nearly 400 astronomers voted to reclassify Pluto Thursday. "We would be regarded as idiots."
SciGuy has the breakdown of the voting. As one who believes in the sanctity of childhood mnemonics, I will not accept these results. I do have an alternative idea, however, one that I think can satisfy the traditionalists as well as the scientists. Remember how back in elementary school we were taught that the vowels were "A, E, I, O, U, and sometimes Y"? I think we should start calling Pluto a "vowel planet", as in "There's Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, Uranus, and sometimes Pluto". Who's with me on this?
UPDATE: Jim Henley has a replacement mnemonic for those times when Pluto isn't a planet.
Posted by Charles Kuffner on August 25, 2006 to Technology, science, and math | TrackBackRemember how back in elementary school we were taught that the vowels were "A, E, I, O, U, and sometimes Y"? I think we should start calling Pluto a "vowel planet", as in "There's Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, Uranus, and sometimes Pluto". Who's with me on this?
Sounds good to me. Let this be the genesis of the resistance...the Pluto underground.
Posted by: Patrick on August 25, 2006 7:50 AMThe educational system that taught me Pluto was a planet has done me a grave disservice.
Someone get me John O'Quinn's phone number.
LOL. This is all a plot by the educational publishing industry to force a new round of buying new science books.
Wait a minute...I may neeed to contact my stockbroker.
Posted by: Patrick on August 25, 2006 11:39 AMPart of the new definition of planet: ...has cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit. Pluto doesn't meet the definition because it's orbit crosses Neptune's orbit. The problem here is that Neptune's orbit crosses Pluto's orbit, which means Neptune has not cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit. Yet IAU has specifically retained Neptune as a planet in direct violation of its definition of a planet. The only thing IAU has resolved is that IAU cannot be taken seriously.
Posted by: Charles Hixon on August 25, 2006 12:22 PMSee Charles? Size does matter!
Posted by: Tom on August 25, 2006 2:37 PMI don't understand why they can't just leave Pluto as an 'honorary' planet and everything after that would be 'dwarf' planets.
the Pluto underground already exists, they're the group that pushed Nasa to send a mission to Pluto, it's called New Horizions.
I don't understand why they can't just leave Pluto as an 'honorary' planet and everything after that would be 'dwarf' planets.
the Pluto underground already exists, they're the group that pushed Nasa to send a mission to Pluto, it's called New Horizions.
You guys suck monkey balls. Pluto kicks ass.
Go to hell and die.
Gumby True
Posted by: Gumby True on December 15, 2006 12:46 PM