A mildly drunken rant.

[gridlore]

Will everyone please get over the IAU's decision on Pluto? Seriously, I'm seeing Pluto being used in columns about baseball! Every ill-informed yahoo is jumping up and down about this. Reactionary Christians are screaming that this proves that science is wishy-washy, and evolution is a fraud. (Do not ask me to explain the logic there.) People are making countless "save Pluto" products, actual news programs have wasted hours on the subject.

Ladies and gentlemen, Pluto is still there. It is still 2274 km in diameter, and still orbits with a period of 248.54 years. To quote The Nine 8 Planets:

"The IAU has changed the definition of "planet" so that Pluto no longer qualifies. There are now officially only eight planets in our solar system. Of course this change in terminology does not affect what's actually out there. In the end, it's not very important how we classify the various objects in our solar system. What is important is to learn about their physical nature and their histories."

This is science at its best. We have learned new things and change our definitions to match those findings. I'm sure as we learn more about our solar system we will run up against more objects that challenge our established views. Good. Astronomy has been doing that since Galileo noticed that Jupiter had moons.

Comments

[twfarlan.livejournal.com]

You know, I finally heard a reason that made sense regarding why so many Crosstians fear evolution. If evolution is the truth, then there was no Garden of Eden wherein Adam and Eve in their innocence partook of forbidden fruit... meaning that there was no Original Sin and thus no need for a Redeemer, invalidating in their minds the fundamental point of Christianity.

It's poppycock, but it makes just enough sense to fit the circumstances. It's that special kind of loopy, abortive logic only fundies seem able to manage, but it is so compelling a rationale for why they seem to NEED to challenge science at every turn.

[meglimir.livejournal.com]

Awww but sometimes it's *fun* to engage in a farce like "save Pluto"! Saving whales and whatnot in reality ultimately has to be serious even if one takes a positive and upbeat approach to it. But "saving" Pluto can be as straight-facedly silly as one likes without endangering anything that matters.

[bunyip.livejournal.com]

As I always say, "Save The Whales. Collect the full set." :)

[claidheamhmor]

Well said. I'm amused at how much drama it's caused the astrologers though!

This has all happened before, you know

[capplor.livejournal.com]

Ceres was originally designated a "planet" when it was discovered, in part because by Bode's law, they expected a planet to be about there. When they figured the size of it, they decided that it didn't count. It just took a bit longer (80-odd years?) for this to happen to Pluto.

That doesn't even mention the REAL planet Vulcan (which was named before discovering it was NOT there.)