Who died and made these guys "God"? How about the world just ignore what the stupid "scientists" say?

Its sorta like the guy who lies in court. After he lies, why believe him?

If Pluto was made a planet by mistake, then who is to say that making it not a planet isn't a mistake as well?

I think this is all way too hyped. I think we would all be well knowing the nine known planets and not get so bogged up precise classification methodology. How does that change our everyday life. It's more of just a conversational topic. What on Earth does it mean to man in his daily life if Neptune has not cleared its orbit of debris. Changing Pluto from Planet down to Dwarf Planet doesn't change anything about Pluto and promoting Ceres doesn't change anything about it either.

All science is essentially mapmaking, and maps always need remaking. People mistake Science's map for reality, and then blame science for making mistakes.

It's important (especially for our kids) to have a working model of the cosmos, and to see that it's just a model, that there's always room for improvement, and that the cosmos will always be beyond our attempts to define it.

never mind having to revise school books. what will all these astrologers do? even apart from Pluto with the new planet discoveries it must cause them great consternation to think they may have had us falling for a great hoax.

Dear Peter

Burn them burn them... a bunch of witches they are.. burn them.

When everyone knew that the earth was flat and that the sun revolved around us and science eventualy said otherwise this is how people responded.

When the first globe map was made I am sure millions of people just like you got very upset about these scourcerers.

I am happy to trust there magic... I don't have a giant telescope at home.

Bevan Goldswain

You go Bevan!

If the term planet is not defined then what do we call the hundreds of objects out in the Kupiter Belt (all those rocks at the outer edge of our solar system) orbiting the sun that are BIGGER that Pluto?

Do you propose we just call them extra large space rocks just to keep it simple? What happened to human advancement through discovery? Become to difficult for the masses to remember something as simple as whether or not Pluto is a planet or not?

If a change was made in medical science would you want doctors to igore it becase text books would have to change...? I should hope my doctor keeps up to date...

The real problem isn't whether or not Pluto is a planet so much as the IAU has given us a faulty definition of a planet. Their resolution says nothing about the size, mass, solid surface or density of a world. A planet is now defined by three rather vague criteria. A planet must orbit a star. It must have hydrostatic equilibrium, i.e. it must be "nearly round." And it must have "cleared its neighborhood" of other bodies in its orbit. When does something not become "nearly round?" What does "clearing the neighborhood" mean? By these criteria, one could say that a black hole orbiting a star is a planet ! It orbits a star, its event horizon is nearly round and it certainly clears its neighborhood. I can't imagine anything better at clearing its neighborhood.
It is time to construct a better definition.

Just ignore them. WE all know Pluto is still a planet!

Of course, this is of no real importance -- we'll all manage to get on with our lives somehow, whether or not Pluto's recognized as a planet. Having said that, I'm not sure I'm in agreement with the decision to demote Pluto. Couldn't you argue that the four rocky inner planets have more in common with Pluto than with the gas giants. And I agree -- the definition isn't quite there. "Clearing an orbit" presumably becomes more and more difficult the further you get from the sun, so isn't it at least conceivable (if probably unlikely) that we'll discover an Earth-sized world way, WAY out there, which has yet to "clear its orbit"? And I tend to think that anything the size of Earth or larger orbiting a star (unless it's another star or has some other clear definition) should DEFINITELY be called a planet. In fact, I've read stories about the possibility (or maybe discovery) of planets existing apart from any star -- perhaps knocked out their original orbit around a star by some cosmic mishap. Do we now need a new word for such former planets?

In a very real sense, I think, this has as much to do with kids as with scientists. I think some people are bothered by the confusion they imagine it will cause kids if Pluto suddenly ceases to be called a planet -- they're of the opinion that change and uncertainty are confusing and disturbing. I think just the opposite -- that one of the biggest mistakes people make is to imagine that reality is hard, fixed and dependable, and that our knowledge of reality can be so as well. But the very nature of science is that we can never possess 100% certainty -- we're always open to the possibility of a better, more complete understanding.

In science and in other areas of human understanding, certainty is generally a mark of ignorance. To paraphrase one of my favorite quotes, "True ignorance is not so much in what we don't know as in what we DO know that isn't so." (The actual quo

The only thing that made Pluto a planet in the first place was the public's excitement over finding another orbitting object using primitive, early 20th century space technology.

Now that we've found dozens more of these pluto like objects in the Cheron Belt, it's lost value. This debate has been going on for over a decade now, and the only thing stopping them from demoting Pluto were the legions of school children writting letters in crayon and boogers pleading for them to keep Pluto as a full fledged planet.

Screw them. It's not a planet. It's orbit could send it crashing into Neptune. There are astroids just as large as Pluto, and if one were to hit it just right to knock it out of orbit, Pluto could come crashing into us. How would Pluto handle a comet collision? It wouldn't. The rock we call Pluto would just disappear, and the comet would soar right through it like a bullet through a pillow.

Not my kind of planet. Screw dwarf planet. It's an asteroid with a moon.

Listen Pluto is not like any of the planets we now call planets. Its in fact a half formed planet, which is part of the Kuiper Belt. It just happens to be in the inner regions of the belt and Neptune's gravity has pulled it farther in. Though there could be hundreds of Plutos in that belt, but they are still half formed planets. Thats why there is such interest in them because they are much like proto Earth just frozen mid process. But still they arent planets since they didnt have the same amount of energy from the sun to complete the process.

Nathan, I enjoyed your comment, but have a couple of observations. Firstly, rather than "Listen", you really should have said "Look", although both are equally annoying. Secondly, there is no way that there could be "hundreds of Plutos.." in the Kuiper Belt, there is only 1 Pluto, 1 Mickey and 1 Minnie... even my kids know that. Frankly, unless it affects the Bank of England base rate, I really couldn't care less if its a planet or not. This comment is by an ex-physicist (astro). Get a life!

Neptune can not now be a planet because it did not clear its orbit of the crossing of Pluto!

i believe that earth also hasnt cleared its orbit, we have countless asteroids that follow more or less the same orbit as we do.. i think that the fact that such a small amout of the scientists in the field were actually alowed to vote is its downfall. desicions like this cannot be made in 2 weeks. i have always held the belief that pluto is not a 'real' planet, but the definitions that they have thrown forward are stupid. i have no idea what the best definitions would be i add. but as so many astrology experts have voiced complaints, i feel that these definitions arnt the right ones.

I say, let the courts decide! Just kidding.

Science by committee must be superior to that alternative. Nothing wrong with science by committee, it's the request for comment process that matters.

But for a while, the elephant is unidentified.

We are really putting Pluto through an emotional rollercoaster here. First it's a nobody, then it's a somebody, and now it's somebody-but-not-as-good-as-everybody-else. This really brings up a more fundamental point -- just how much of science is a lot more arbitrary than some scientific "experts" (I quote it because I said it out loud as I wrote it) are often eager to admit.

Peter in Los Angeles with the mysterious quote of the day --

"...frankly there are even a good many areas where virtual certainty is justified... and yet sometimes these turn out to be the very areas where our certainty turns out to have been misplaced -- witness Saddam's WMD's..."

Come again? Who was certain? George W.'s magic 8 ball? Refresh my memory...

ok people just need to make up theyre minds so they can get over this and move on. i mean so what if pluto isnt a major planet or not. seriously who cares besides the scientists. it dosent really make every day life any easier or more complicated. so y not just get over it. huh?

Neptune is a planet...Pluto is a planet...they just don't want to call the other 100 planetiods out in the belt a planet. So they're setting the definition to suit their needs. 1] it revolves around our sun (shouldn't matter if the orbit is eliptical or not), 2] it has gravity and therefore has a circlular mass, 3] is not a sun itself. Go ahead and make up another rule if you need to omit Pluto and Neptune, but don't knock them out with these 3 pathetic guidelines.

I think we do need another rule because if you think about it, our moon follows the same criteria. It has gravey (round), it's not a sun, and it does revolve around the sun...it goes around the sun as the earth goes around the sun. So 4] it's must have a single orbit around the sun and not another planet.

Welcome Xena and her moon Gabby to the solar system. May your brothers and sisters join us soon.

Clearly Neptune is not a planet. How could it be, and not have cleared Pluto from it's orbit. Come to think of it commets, metorites and other objects constantly cross the path of Earth too. I don't think we have ANY planets in this solar system...

Dr. Bill C. Riemers

I was just wondering why the IAU has such an influential pull? Are they an official organization that is recognized by ALL of the respective governments of Earth? Do they have anyone to answer to if they are wrong, and how can they make such a decision of which planets make the cut when they DID NOT have ALL of their members at the voting?
For a topic of literal planetary scale, you think they would be better organized to take the vote.
They might also want to have some sort of iron clad standards BEFORE they start demoting planets into dwarfs, moons, or some other non-sence whenever they want to change their collective minds, (and OUR text-books)!
I do have one question: if most planets in our solar system have moons (many moons) then how can they have a "clear orbit"? Just wondering.

Pluto has always been described as a lesser planet, and little new information on Pluto is being generated in the current arguments. Apparently the IAU is helping to redefine the limits of its own powers as well as the solar system it attempts to govern. It is a good idea to review assumptions and preconceived ideas. I would not change the definition of the planets until we've heard views from all the scientists in the solar system, and those of adjacent systems.

I have not heard adequate discussion on how this will affect the daily horoscope preditions. Shouldn't these charts be revised as well? Someone must let me know when it safe to leave the house.

Perhaps it is an urgent matter for the ICSU, which governs the IAU.

i think that pluto is obviously part of the "axis of evil" as it clearly does not meet the criteria that we of the civilized and democratic world have set as definitions of planets.So if pluto is not "with us" then surely it is "againts us" and thus a threat to national security.obviously pluto does not like freedom and democracy [and most likely posseses WMD's],so it is imperative that we -the coalition of the willing-make a preemptive attack againts pluto in the name of God ,Country,and Freedom. yada yada yada.we will get back to solving the less important problems of OUR planet when we have rid the universe of potential threats of radical E T terrorism . PS i hope we find extra oil on pluto while we are there as i miss driving my z-71 suv.

I agree with Ryan. Who gave these guys the power? Isn't is pretty shameful how they have acted?

One has to love it: all this talk about a relatively small (comparitively speaking) object and how we should classify it. I wonder how many man-hours have gone into this debate, both from the so-called "pros" (scientists) and the "hacks" -- people like me with nothing better to do than voice an opinion about something which really doesn't matter.

Want to inspire some thought? Do what I did: take your kids out and look at the sky. Talk to the them about the beaches around the world. Pick up a grain of sand. Tell them that there are exponentially more stars in the sky than there are grains of sand on all the beaches on all of Earth. IMHO, that's far more compelling to think about than whether Pluto is a planet or not. 8, 9, 12 planets: What said the Bard? "By any other word would smell as sweet." --or -- "Much Ado About Nothing", take your pick.

With so many more important things for astronomers and scientists to consider, it's very nearly pathetic that so much energy has gone into this "Pluto thing". Pluto is there, it isn't going away, and have a nice day. On to other things.....

I remain,

LovinItAll

Pupil: Please Sir! Did you hear that scientists have found life on another planet?

Teacher: What are you talking about?

Pupil: They found fleas on Pluto!

(if we demote the planet I'll have to change my joke. Come on now folks... it ruins it to say "..life on a dwarf planet". Let's get some perspective here!)

Come come now. I think of even greater concern is settling the ambiguity of Goofy. Is he a dog, a man, or a manifestation of Pres. Bush's fears.. a human-animal hybrid? With the polar ice caps melting, glaciers disappearing and perma-frost.. becoming less perma.. our scientist can't afford NOT to be studying this. We need to settle this once and for all and write it down in stone so that millenia after the world has been turned into a churning ball of pure blue, our porpoise-human hybrid descendants can find this tablet and know that we had resolved the critical issues of our day.

Greetings from Pluto.
Just thought I would chime in and let you hear some of our recent local news. The PAU (Plutonian Astronomical Union) has just completed its annual meeting where they reduced your Earth’s status from Planet to Bluish-Green Rock Near Our Sun.
Thank you, have a good day - one of your measly 24 hour days.

;)

Its alarming to thing that its probably public money that funds these guys. For each one we fired - we could probably hire a good few hospital cleaners.

People who sit and make decisions as relevant as this should be financed through sponsorship.

However, as I recall, David Niven made rather a lot of money claiming "the moon's a balloon".

pluto has been quite happily flying around there since i was a wee boy, maybe even longer... i've always liked pluto... one of my favourite planets... leave it alone...

jeez, do these guys have nothing else to do ?