Pluto is not a planet!
By Christopher MooreOnly a few days ago I wrote about how Pluto’s status as a planet was not only solidified, but that three other planets were added to the solar system. Well …
Capping years of intense debate, astronomers resolved Thursday to demote Pluto in a wholesale redefinition of planethood that is being billed as a victory of scientific reasoning over historic and cultural influences.
MSNBC.com reports the result of a vote at the International Astronomical Union in Prague, and the results are not good for Pluto, Charon, Xena, and Ceres. Only 424 astronomers voted on the very last day of the conference to redefine the meaning of the term “planet”:
Planets: The eight worlds starting with Mercury and moving out to Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
Dwarf planets: Pluto and any other round object that “has not cleared the neighborhood around its orbit, and is not a satellite.”
Small solar system bodies: All other objects orbiting the sun.
Dwarf planets are not considered plantes, according to the resolution. Sorry Pluto. We know you have been an honorable member of the family of planets for over a century, but … well… get over it.
Some astronomers where upset, considering that the number of voters made up only 5% of all astronomers. Alan Stern, a NASA scientist, has said the language of the resolution is flawed by requiring that a planet “has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit.” Earth, Mars, Jupiter and Neptune all have asteroids as neighbors. So a case could be made that they are not planets according to the new definition?
“It’s patently clear that Earth’s zone is not cleared,” Stern told Space.com. “Jupiter has 50,000 Trojan asteroids,” which orbit in lockstep with the planet.
Stern called it “absurd” that only 424 astronomers were allowed to vote, out of about 10,000 professional astronomers around the globe.
“It won’t stand,” he said. “It’s a farce.”
Strong words. My prediction is that this conflict will never be resolved.
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