In my brief research for this post, I found that other parents have linked the demise of Pluto as a planet to the song they learned with their children about our planets in the solar system. The song came from the TV program, Blue's Clues and I confess it was one of the first things I thought about when I read that astronomers had stripped Pluto of its planetary status.
Because that program and the song were familiar to both of us, Mamma and I each and independently thought to trick the Boy with the revised answer to the "How many planets are there?" question. My try didn't work because Mamma had already beaten me to the punch.
Mamma: Do you know how many planets there are?
Boy (counting): Nine.
Mamma: Wrong! Eight! Pluto's not a planet anymore.
Boy: WHAT?!?!?!
Mamma: Yes! Pluto's not a planet anymore.
Boy: WHAT?!?!?!
Mamma: The scientists all got together and decided that Pluto wasn't a planet anymore.
Boy: Well! What do the people on Pluto think about that?
1 comment:
Your son is correct about there being nine planets. The scientists did not "all get together" and decide Pluto is no longer a planet. Four percent of the IAU members voted in a highly controversial decision that immediately generated a backlash by an equal number of astronomers. There is an effort being led by Dr. Alan Stern, Principal Investigator of the NASA New Horizons mission to Pluto, to reverse the demotion, beginning with a conference of 1,000 astronomers he plans to convene this year. The view that Pluto is no longer a planet is nothing more than one side of a controversy. And the chances are the demotion will not stand once the issue is revisited by the IAU at its next General Assembly in 2009. There is no need to change anything we teach children about the nine planets.
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