8 OR 12? WHAT MAKES A PLANET?

The International Astronomical Union has opened their annual conference in the Czech Republic’s capital, the Prague last August 16. One of the most talk about or widely followed topic during the meet is the proposed definition of a planet. You see a planet used to be simply defined as any spherical heavenly object that revolves around the sun. That definition however was put into question as technological advances allow astronomers to view the sky more accurately than before. Sometime in 2003, scientists discovered a spherical object much farther away from Pluto, the supposedly “last” planet in our solar system, revolving our sun. What complicates the matter is, the object was found to be larger than Pluto. So the question that begs to be answered was, “is it a planet?” That heavenly object was named UB313 or Xena, after the mythological Greco warrior – princess. In due time, scientists were able to discover other spherical objects revolving the sun and some of them are actually way bigger than Pluto but smaller than our moon. So again the question, are they planets as well? Two rival camps had since sprung up in relation to this question. One camp maintains that Pluto is a planet and therefore any spherical object that is larger than Pluto and revolves a star should be considered a planet. The other camp on the other hand believes that Pluto shouldn’t be a planet at all and it’s inclusion in the first place was a mistake brought about by our limited technology back then. Their premise is that Pluto is too small, smaller than our moon. It is in fact a ball of ice orbiting our Sun in outer fringes of our solar system. This therefore makes any spherical heavenly object revolving a star that is “Pluto – like” should be struck out as a planet. The former argument in favor of Pluto would result in the addition of 3 more planets in our burgeoning solar family, namely, Charon, formerely Pluto’s moon, Xena, and Ceres, which used to be an asteroid in the asteroid belt in between Jupiter and Saturn. On the opposite end, the latter argument would trim the planet list to 8 from the original 9. So what is the fuss all about? Well, it is the implication of this new planet list. On the lighter side (and somewhat comical one), if you are a believer in astrological prediction of which I am definitely not. The addition of 3 new planets should theoretically fine-tune their prediction, which therefore means that one would be able to find their soul mate at the exact time and place as written in the stars. The removal of Pluto shouldn’t be that bad, for a soothe sayer could make Pluto as a scapegoat for their earlier “mis-predictions” since Pluto shouldn’t be in the equation in the first place. Teachers, educators, and textbook publishers would have to revise what they teach to schoolchildren incorporating this latest definition of a planet starting perhaps next year. The implication of this momentous change was the creation of a generational shift much like the generational difference between Baby boomers and Gen Xers. Imagine this, schoolchildren taking up astronomy class next school year would be taught that the solar system is made up of 8 or 12 planets instead of 9 that we all used to accept. By then, we would call these kids and kids after them as Generation 8 or Gen 12 and people before them including old timer like me, Gen 9ers. Science fiction authors, movie and TV producers and even game publishers would have a hey day with remakes incorporating this newfound definition. Imagine Star Trek’s United Federation of Planets having 12 Sol system member planets instead of 9. And instead of fearing a Martian invasion, we should also worry about invasion of Amazons from the planet Xena. But kidding aside, seriously speaking, as a science enthusiast and a romanticist, I had to admit that I felt sentimental about Pluto. I don’t want it remove from my list but then also, I’m not exactly enthusiastic about welcoming Xena and the rest either. What can I say? I grew up knowing that our solar system is made up of 9 planets and it is one of the few “constants” that I hold in life (I’m a person who holds very, very few constants in life with the rest being arbitrary). Now, it looks like it is going to be change. Well, I should have known better. As science progresses, our understanding of our universe expands as well. What was once deemed true and universal may no longer be the case as we discover more of what it is out there. Keeping an open mind and keeping abreast with the unraveling truth is an imperative in our modern lives. There are times however that I wish that I could see a star at night for what it is, the star of our childhood dreams, a star that we wonder about, amaze of its beauty, wish upon during our young life and not the distant solar system light years away. That would however be naïve in my age. Guess I had to live with the fact that our solar system will have 8 or 12 planets depending on the outcome of the vote on August 24 by the IAU. But my question is, for how long would this “fact” stand?