Pluto oh Pluto, why doest thou bug me?

Stan Beer
Friday, 25 August 2006 12:02

Opinion and Analysis

For the past month or so, a debate has been raging througout scientific circles as to whether the world called Pluto in the outer reaches of our solar system is a planet. Why this debate has been necessary is not exactly clear but it appears that Pluto has been kicked out of the planets club - the P9 has become the P8.

Why am I writing about this? Because I can't get away from the damned story. It follows me wherever I go.

Apparently, because scientists now have more powerful telescopes and computers to analyze data, they're now discovering things about the far reaches of outer space and the objects that inhabit that space that they didn't know before.

As a consequence, my children are now asking me questions that I can't answer. Such as: why is Pluto now called a Planet Trans Neptunian Objects Dwarf instead of just a plain old planet? What about these new worlds Ceres, Charon and Xena (not the warrior princess) - what do they have to do with anything? Why is Ceres called just a plain old Planet Dwarf, unlike the other three second class planets.

To make matters worse, my wife walked in on me while I was writing an article the other day and calmly asked me if I had heard that Pluto was no longer a planet.

The scientific publishing industry must be clapping their hands with glee. All of the books and internet sites on Astronomy are now out of date. They need to be rewritten, re-edited and re-published.

Never mind Astronomy, what about Astrology? How does the relegation of Pluto's status affect the zodiac? After all, Pluto is supposed to rule the sign of Scorpio. Does Scorpio no longer have a ruler? Or is it acceptable for a sign of the zodiac to be ruled by a Planet Trans Neptunian Objects Dwarf? What part do the other Planet Dwarves play in predicting our futures? More books to be written and sold.

These are questions I am just not equipped to deal with. As for Dark Matter, well that's another matter (ouch).