Dinky Pluto loses its status as planet
"Pluto, beloved by some as a cosmic underdog but scorned by astronomers who considered it too dinky and distant, was unceremoniously stripped of its status as a planet Thursday. "
""The word 'planet' and the idea of planets can be emotional because they're something we learn as children," said Richard Binzel, a professor of planetary science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who helped hammer out the new definition."
"Alan Stern said he was "embarrassed" by Pluto's undoing and predicted that Thursday's vote would not end the debate. Although 2,500 astronomers from 75 nations attended the conference, only about 300 showed up to vote."
"Pluto, beloved by some as a cosmic underdog but scorned by astronomers who considered it too dinky and distant, was unceremoniously stripped of its status as a planet Thursday. "
""The word 'planet' and the idea of planets can be emotional because they're something we learn as children," said Richard Binzel, a professor of planetary science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who helped hammer out the new definition."
"Alan Stern said he was "embarrassed" by Pluto's undoing and predicted that Thursday's vote would not end the debate. Although 2,500 astronomers from 75 nations attended the conference, only about 300 showed up to vote."
Okay, I have to ask. Why, oh why? Poor Pluto. I'm sorry, I'm getting emotional. Excuse me? Is anyone really emotional about this? Okay, if you read the story, the widow of the man who discovered Pluto is a little confused and I can understand if she's a little emotional - but that's about where I draw the line.
And out of 2,500 astronomers who came to the conference (can you say high end trekkie convention?) only 300 showed up for a vote? That's 12% of the people at the conference. Do you think that 2,500 is the total amount of astronomers in the world or do you think some were missing?
Are you wondering why I posted about this? I didn't want to end a post with "I hate people" or "sheet of glass".
Oh and one final piece of business - We went to the renaissance faire a couple weeks ago and while watching the jousting I heard a woman yell "OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!" Libby, were you there?
