Solar System Downsized!

Pluto is no more a “True Planet” but a “Dwarf Planet” from yesterday bringing the number of planets in the solar system from nine to eight. That decision was taken by a group of astronomers at the XXVIth General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union. The Assembly was at session at Prague, Czech Republic for 10 days.

For as long as all generations alive on this planet can remember barring a few, Pluto has been a planet from its discovery in 1930. But from today it is been classified with a few other celestial bodies to a ‘Dwarf Planet’.

This may be something akin to Copernicus introducing his theory through his book, De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres) in the 1543. His theory demolished the prevailing belief that the earth was the center of the universe and everything else revolved around it.

Now what is the problem with Pluto being a true or dwarf planet? Does it make a difference? Well the matter of fact is only 424 astronomers who remained in Prague for the last days of the meeting took part. The IAU has 9040 individual members (i.e., professional astronomers); and 63 national members (i.e., countries that are affiliated with the IAU). So it is only about 4% of the world’s authoritative body which has voted in a new code of classification for planets. What happens in another 4 years when the next assembly comes? Will they rectify this error and bring back Pluto as the ninth planet in the solar system. As kids, the nine planets were drilled into our heads through a variety of methods and sentences. But does it really matter? Think of reprinting everything from encylopedias to charts in schools showing 9 planets.

Now life just got tougher for school kids and even adults who have to relearn that there are eight planets in the solar system and 3 dwarf planets called Ceres, 2003 UB313 and Pluto.

So much for enlightening change in the solar system. In this present time and age when we find it difficult to accept man-made rules or national boundaries on earth, our scientists have taken one step further by confusing outer space a little more.

We mere mortals, so small yet we claim to own the universe leaving the higher powers to laugh. In the future when people will be traveling across the universe like Star Trek, I am sure they will look back and laugh at the foolish mortals who sat on earth knowing only of a dozen planets when in the future there would be hundreds of mapped and inhabited planets.

The irony of the matter is, the first earth probe to Pluto was launched on January 19, 2006 and the date of closest approach to Pluto will be on July 14, 2015 according to scientists. Surely astronomers have better things to do than play with names. Why not think of another manned mission to the moon. Keep our dreams of outer space alive - it shows us there is much more than the on this earth no matter what it is called.

Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity,
and I'm not sure about the former. – Albert Einstein