Poor Pluto. No, not that Pluto. Not Mickey Mouse’s dog (and how exactly does a mouse get a pet dog). I’m talking about the planet Pluto… actually the now former planet Pluto!
I sort of understand. Pluto stands out from all the other kids in the neighborhood. It’s smaller, farther away from the Sun and has a skewed orbit that moves it across the orbit of Neptune and across the plane of the orbits of all the other planets.
We haven’t heard the last in this debate. In a Lieberman/Lamont type declaration, some astronomers have questioned the result of the vote to dethrone Pluto because of the small number of voters!
I’m not 100% sure what difference having eight versus nine planets will have? Whatever scientific studies exist won’t stop because of a name change. But it will be strange to lose our funniest planetary name… well, next to Uranus.
nine versus ten planets???
Did I miss one?
🙂
In my normal ‘fact check’ mode, I pulled up a graphic and counted with my fingers. Since the article was about reclassifying some objects as planets, Ceres was included. Ceres is not a planet, but I still counted it.
The entry has been corrected.
Even though the scientists say Pluto is no longer a planet, I’m still going with it, simply because I grew up with nine planets. I like things to be kept the way it was.
Oh by the way Geoff, are you worried about the future Ernesto??
Yes, thank goodness we still have Uranus. A giant gas planet, just minding its own business. You stay classy Uranus. Unfortunately, this new found planet gossip won’t last because of the troublemaker in the Carribean. Ernesto, always a party crasher… every six years that is.