Pluto Decision Near?

[sdelmonte]

David Kestenbaum of NPR reports that a panel appointed by the Intl. Astronomical Union is close to making a recommendation about what to do with Pluto. They are likely to suggest a new category of "dwarf planet" that would be in between regular planets and things like comets and most asteroids. The IAU isn't talking on the record yet, but it looks like there will be a good deal of debate at a meeting late in the summer, and possibly a vote.

I still think that Pluto deserves full planet status. And I wonder if this would lead to a multiplication of definitions and subdefinitions that would muddy a simple system. But dwarf planet beats "trans-Neptunian object" if nothing else.

Comments

[mabfan.livejournal.com]

I've got to get http://www.plutoisaplanet.org up and running...

[greenbaron.livejournal.com]

"trans-Neptunian object"

I guess you could say some folks are Dissing Pluto :)

[zsero.livejournal.com]

I stopped calling it a planet many years ago. It's no more a planet than Ceres.