If you've been following planetary astronomy the last few years, you may have noticed that not only are we finding planets around other stars, we've been finding a lot of Pluto-type objects in the outer part of the solar system, several in the same size range as Pluto, and at least one that appears larger. Are they "planets?" They have not been called such at this point, but that may change. Or Pluto may get demoted. Or grandfathered in. We'll know in September after a special panel of astronomers, educators, and historians meet to decide; Personally I think Pluto should be demoted. There's something special about the term planet, and if we keep Pluto, we should start adding these other guys out there...perhaps hundreds of them. Let's just call them large planetoids, Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs), or whatever. Pluto's special status as a so-called planet has given it a strange weight in the astronomical and science fiction communities, leading to both missions and stories that single it out when there are probably many such locales in the outer solar system.
Posted by Mike at June 11, 2006 10:23 PM