http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20090316/sc_space/asscienceevolvessodoespluto
As Science Evolves, So Does Pluto

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=21982
[quote]…WHEREAS, The mean-spirited International Astronomical Union decided on August 24, 2006, to disrespect Pluto by stripping Pluto of its planetary status and reclassifying it as a lowly dwarf planet; and

…WHEREAS, Pluto, named after the Roman God of the underworld and affectionately sharing the name of California’s most famous animated dog, has a special connection to California history and culture; and

WHEREAS, Downgrading Pluto’s status will cause psychological harm to some Californians who question their place in the universe and worry about the instability of universal constants; and

WHEREAS, The deletion of Pluto as a planet renders millions of text books, museum displays, and children’s refrigerator art projects obsolete, and represents a substantial unfunded mandate that must be paid by dwindling Proposition 98 education funds, thereby harming California’s children and widening its budget deficits; and

WHEREAS, The deletion of Pluto as a planet is a hasty, ill-considered scientific heresy similar to questioning the Copernican theory, drawing maps of a round world, and proving the existence of the time and space continuum; and [/quote]

But the last 2 reasons make one wonder if the legislation wasn’t intended to be sarcastic.[quote]WHEREAS, The downgrading of Pluto reduces the number of planets available for legislative leaders to hide redistricting legislation and other inconvenient political reform measures; and

WHEREAS, The California Legislature, in the closing days of the 2005-06 session, has been considering few matters important to the future of California, and the status of Pluto takes precedence and is worthy of this body’s immediate attention; now, therefore, be it [/quote]

New Mexico’s legislation is a more mundane version except it highlights their ignorance while touting their state as a center of astronomical education.

The problem with the current definition is that it is dependent on how far out an object is. By the current IAU definition, Earth would not be a planet if it was at Pluto’s orbit, since it would be unable to clear the orbit.

Nevertheless, the fact remains that Earth has cleared its orbital neighbourhood.

What alternative definition would you supply?

Personally, I think that the definition of planet should include “orbits a star” instead of “orbits the sun”, but I guess that gives us a distinction between planet and extrasolar planet.

So, what, now we need separation of science and state?

Yeah!

What we need is guaranteed Academic Freedom. Free the Academics!!

Oh, wait . . . don’t we already have that?

Who took a core sample to determine Pluto is only ice?

Irrelevant. Our best understanding of the formation of KBOs indicates that they are entirely (or almost entirely) composed of ices. Unless evidence comes to light (e.g. from New Horizons in a few years’ time) to indicate that we are wrong, we should assume our best understanding to be correct.

The fact that some quite small objects appear to be spheroidal supports this – rock is too rigid for a small rocky body to form a sphere, whereas ice is far more ductile and hence small icy bodies form spheroids..

The majority of the people on this comment stream seems to think that the IL Legislature doesn’t have the authority to make this decision.

Well guess what? Neither does the IAU. Just because a bunch of hominids on the third rock from Sol happen to have more scientific knowledge of a certain area does not give them the right to name anything. They throw something against the wall and see if it sticks, but they can’t fight against the pitchforks and torches of the masses.

This is misdirection.

No-one has the “authority” to impose a universal name on an astronomical object. However, this statement is utterly irrelevant. The IAU has the authority to provide the astronomical community (i.e. humans who study celestial objects) with a definition for a common term.

handled and debunked by Törbjorn Larsson

Thanks, Marco, perhaps I’m not lost in space then!

And now I have to decide if I’m going to start whine that my mööns are circling the wrong planets …