The NYT defends planetary exclusivity in response to the discovery of a new heavenly body in the outer solar system. Is it a planet? That it is larger than Pluto, similarly composed, and orbiting our Sun suggests that it is, but scientists fear that new technology will foster the discovery of dozens of similar objects.
While the “four terrestrial planets” and the “four gaseous planets” clearly “deserve their status,” the Times is unimpressed with Pluto and its lookalikes. “Scientists may well discover many more ice balls” larger than Pluto, it disparagingly notes.
Astronomer Michael Brown wants to bite the bullet and call anything a planet that is as planetary as Pluto, but the Times opines that demoting Pluto is a more wieldy solution. “It is a safe bet that few in our culture want to memorize the names of 20 or more planets,” the editors sniff.
The Times recommends downgrading Pluto to the status of “an icy sphere that was once mistakenly deemed a planet.” Pluto’s devotees can then start a support group with discouraged boosters of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and the Artist Formerly Known as Prince.
Posted by Marie Gryphon on August 2, 2005