Re: Pluto loses status as a planet

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeehaw! The South will rise agin! Pluto ferevor!




Chris L Peterson wrote:

On Thu, 24 Aug 2006 14:20:37 GMT, Sam Wormley <swormley1@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

Astronomers meeting in the Czech capital have voted to strip Pluto of
its status as a planet. About 2,500 experts were in Prague for the
International Astronomical Union's (IAU) general assembly.

No they haven't. They have only adopted a nomenclature that could have a
minor effect on scientific discussion and publications. The common
definition of "planet" hasn't changed- that is beyond the authority of
the IAU (or any other organization).

Whether Pluto remains a "planet" or not is largely a matter of public
usage. I'll certainly continue to teach the classical nine planets in
the classroom. I predict it will be a long time (if ever) before most
people stop considering Pluto to be a planet.

_________________________________________________

Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com

.

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