"The first step in blogging is not writing them but reading them." - Jeff Jarvis, BuzzMachine, 07-10-2006

Friday, August 25, 2006

Pluto demoted!!

That's the most interesting piece of news I have come across in near past. I thought promotions and demotions were part of only corporate life, but now even the planets have to go through the same.

Pluto's title of a 'planet' got endangered when a number of bodies like Xena or Sedna in space beyond Pluto. These bodies also claimed for the status of planets. And like what would happen in a corporate organization instead of promoting all of them; the management (read "Leading astronomers") decide to strip the Pluto of its title and call it a 'dwarf planet' along with others.

To us it really doesn't matters whether the Pluto is called a planet or not. It will still be there as it was for so many years, going around the Sun. But I was wondering what happens to other sciences like astrology which were based on the fact that we have 9 planets.

Also I would like to quote here a piece about the discoverer of the 'planet' Pluto ...
"Pluto, which has been considered a planet since 1930 when it was discovered by Clyde, Tombaugh. The widow of the astronomer who discovered Pluto 76 years ago says she is frustrated by the decision to strip it of its planetary status, but she adds that Clyde Tombaugh would have understood.
'I'm not heartbroken. I'm just shook up," said Patricia Tombaugh.
Tombaugh, who died in 1997, had fought off other attempts to relegate Pluto, but his widow said this time he probably would have endorsed the change, now that other planetary objects have been discovered in the Kuiper Belt."

3 comments:

sadsadas said...

I guess now the Astronomical Society had now rename 'Pluto' to some number like than of any other asteriod.It's like stripping your medals if found guilty afterward.:((

Saptarshi De said...

quite possible ... they can say it can nolonger can have a planet-like name

Chinmay said...

Nice Blog dude....!

Guess they do something in favor of Pluto Uncle post reading ur post in here...! ;)

Keep Posting!

~Chinmay
[http://thebookreviewz.blogspot.com/]