THE SOUTHWORTH PLANETARIUM
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43.6667° N    70.2667° W  Altitude:  10 feet below sea level Founded
January 1970
2021-2022: LXXXIII
"We cannot teach people anything; we can only help them discover it in
themselves." -Galileo Galilei, who, if we were still alive, would be
celebrating his 458th birthday today!


THE DAILY ASTRONOMER Tuesday, February 15, 2022
The Pluto Responses

Heavens!
Yesterday's article about Pluto's possible planetary reinstatement elicited
some responses from subscribers, all of which were in equal measure
thoughtful and passionate. Evidently, the ardor many of us feel about
Pluto's unjust demotion has scarcely abated in the fifteen plus years since
the IAU dragged the poor planet to the chopping block. Today's article,
which was originally going to pertain to my insightful theory about how to
finally reconcile quantum physics with General Relativity, will instead
focus on these responses and my responses to these responses. I'm not sure
what I'll do if the responses to the responses elicit other responses.
However we'll quantum tunnel through that bridge when we come to it,
Werner. I apologize to those whose responses I didn't include. Please don't
infer from their exclusion that I consider them invalid or not worthy of
note. Space constraints necessitated these exclusions.

We must start with input from that wonderful and quintessential Pluto
defender, LK, who writes a brilliant Pluto blog and has been a subscriber
for some years. In response to my line:

"The IAU General Assembly is convening its next meeting this August in
Korea. Will Pluto's planetary status be then reinstated?"

LK writes:

*Statements like this assume that only the IAU has the right to bestow
planet status on an object. This is essentially an appeal to authority. The
IAU planet definition should not in any way be privileged above other
definitions currently in use, such as the geophysical definition. I have
long suggested planetary scientists form their own organization and adopt
their own definition of planet. We do not need the IAU to issue a decree or
stamp of approval for Pluto to be considered a planet. Unfortunately, the
media has portrayed the IAU decision as fact rather than as what it really
is--one side in an ongoing debate.*

*>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>*
Indeed!   That line does presuppose that the IAU stands as the final
authority on all such matters.   We know that most planetary scientists
have ignored the IAU's designation, a fact little mentioned by most media
sources.  I stand cheerfully corrected.

LK concluded with:

Pluto was never "dead."  Mike Brown has made it his personal agenda to
brand himself as Pluto's "killer" in an effort to pursue money and fame.
Pluto is not only geologically alive; it is also alive as a planet to most
planetary scientists, amateur astronomers, and members of the public.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Again, very true. Pluto is alive in every possible sense, except, perhaps,
metabolically.     Your passion and that of countless other Pluto advocates
attest to its aliveness in the minds of so many scientists and members of
the general public.

As for Mike Brown's motivations, well, I am afraid I cannot know one way or
the other.  However, if he is desirous of money and fame, why doesn't he
just write a daily astronomy article from the confines of a small,
subterranean planetarium?


MP, another long time DA subscriber and ardent Pluto champion, stated

*Pluto lives and so may all those other hundred and forty or so other
planets,  However, can they still be planets if they are actually moons
revolving around other planets?*
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Sure, why not?
There are such objects as double planets.  In fact, some astronomers wanted
to designate Pluto and Charon as a "double planet."   Of course, that
designation was based on Charon's large size relative to Pluto and the fact
that both worlds revolve around a common barycenter that is external to
both.      However, if one altered the definition of planet to include all
geologically active bodies, then we could have planets in orbit around
other planets.      This example perfectly illustrates how we craft the
definitions ourselves and then categorize the celestial bodies
accordingly.

And, finally, HG, a new subscriber, said,

*Hooray!  Let's bring Pluto back and beg for his/her forgiveness.   By the
way, how did Clyde Tombaugh respond when Pluto was demoted?*
>>>>>>>>>>>>
Well, Pluto would have to possess a saint-like nature to forgive such an
insult, but here's hoping.   Also, Clyde Tombaugh was deceased by the time
the IAU voted on Pluto's demotion in 2006.




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