AND THEN THERE IS 8

Yesterday, the International Astronomical Union finally gave their verdict on the status of Pluto. They voted to downgrade Pluto from a planet into a class of heavenly bodies known as “dwarf planets” (for more info see www.astronomy2006.com) along with Xena, Charon, and Ceres. In short, we now have 8 instead of the long held 9 (regular) planets orbiting our sun. I guess its time to change our long held facts. Funny, how a small group of so – called experts could in one swoop change our long held “facts” just like that. Of the 2,500 astronomers who attended the convention, only 300 showed up to vote. 300 “experts” telling 7 billion people about what the universe should look like. Does the job title, Astronomer, really wield that much say? In ancient Greece, such act would be considered an act of tyranny. Anyway, having 8 planets instead of 9 had it’s advantages. One could say that such a move is tantamount to a cost cutting measure. For one, instead of adding 3 more pages to textbooks and encyclopedia about the other “dwarf planets” (Xena and the gang) complete with pictures and details if Pluto were retained. Publishers could now just simply ripped off the page on Pluto and still make sense and money. NASA could save billions because they don’t have to launch 3 more space probes to explore the 3 new planets if it were declared as such. Lastly, we could save money in building our model solar system now that Pluto is gone. Cost – cutting and I thought that only happens in business. Little did I realize that it could apply to science as well.