Today the head of the International Astronomical Union called for universal agreement among astronomers for what constitutes a planet: “People have to be able to agree on a terminology that’s used to describe things in the universe…We don’t want an American version, a European version and a Japanese version”. The world will finally have a global mythology rooted in Science: the religion inspired by logic, ruled by physics, prophetized by geniuses, and preached by nerds.
The assemblage of scientists is divided on what constitutes a planet, and their decision will determine if Pluto, with its eccentric orbit and small mass, will remain a planet. Call me Orthodox Science, but they can’t just revoke Pluto’s status as a planet. I learned 9 planets in grade school, and to suddenly have 8 would erode my faith. What other empirical lore will they disavow?
But the tenements of Science are not etched in stone; human interpretation affects it as in all beliefs. One faction contends that if Pluto is a planet, then the newly-discovered Xena should be deemed a planet, as well as 50 or so other bodies of mass in our solar system. Zealots. Another faction puts forth that we should sub-divide the classification of planets, with “gas giant planets” and “ice dwarf planets.” Radicals.
