Is {pluto|sedna} A Planet?

Dr. Zowie writes "NASA's announcement last week of Sedna's discovery reignited the debate over whether Pluto is a planet. Dr. Alan Stern a noted planetary scientist and leader of the New Horizons mission to Pluto, pours on some gasoline with this article in which he skewers the various arguments against Pluto-as-planet. Choice quotes include 'You wouldn't deny a chihauhau a place among dogs because it is too small,' and 'if your brain was so completely full of names of people that it just couldn't take any more, would anyone new who you met after that, therefore not be a person?'"

Comments

Who cares

[p51d007]

I don't think in the grand scheme of things, that it makes a bit of difference. WHO CARES!
I'd be more concerned if another idiot with a cause would fly a plane into a building.

Request For New Topic

[Tailhook]

Please establish a new Topic; Meaningless Academic Debates (MADS). In it, we shall place any discussion of CISC vs. RISC, DVD+R vs. DVD-R, big-endian vs. little-endian and, now, whether Sedna is or is not a planet. Thanks in advance!

Imagine if we had no knowledge of planets other than what we currently know about extra-solar planets. One day we built a Really Big Telescope and discover these small, "rocky" objects orbiting other stars. No doubt a debate would then ensue as to whether these objects are legitimate planets. Would it occur to anyone participating in this debate to make a distinction between Earth and Sedna?

The designation "planet" is entirely arbitrary and nearly obsolete. No matter what criteria you establish, some chunk of matter orbiting some star is going to screw up the charts. You may think it's possible, but sooner or later we'll find a big collection of iron ore sized slightly larger than Mars that was obviously built by someone and we'll have to decide whether something constructed is a "planet." As soon as we figure that out a giant ball of positrons with an atmosphere and a functioning ecology will appear. Space is really, really BIG and it doesn't confine itself to our ignorant, mostly sentimental, little classifications.

Can we please not entertain this nonsense any more than necessary? It is the academic equivalent of the World Wrestling Federation; plenty of self serving, dramatic heat and absolutely zero light. If not then classify it properly so I can weed it out.