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Why Pluto Still Matters
StartsWithABang writes Nearly a century ago, Pluto was discovered, and for 48 years it remained the only known object whose orbit takes it beyond the gravitational pull of Neptune. In a single generation, we've now discovered more than 1,000 additional objects in the Kuiper Belt, but does that make Pluto any less special? Here's a strong argument for why Pluto might matter now more than ever.
What angers me about the sort of attitude expressed by Neil deGrasse Tyson is that the argument that Pluto should not be a planet is based on emotion and cultural factors just as much as the argument that it should be a planet. Just as the argument for Pluto being a planet is based on an attachment to some idea of the local solar system, the argument against it being a planet is based on an attachment to some idea of the local solar system--specifically, the idea that there are discrete boundaries between "planets and non-planets." There's an ignorant arrogance when people imply that arguments for Pluto being a planet are just based on emotional attachment to the idea of 10 planets--there's just as much of an attachment on the other side to the idea that there can't be 100s of planets.
If they were being honest, they would have avoided the "planet" versus "non-planet" debate by just classifying *all* planets--e.g., "rocky", "gas", etc.
The comments about Pluto's status as a planet where when my respect for deGrasse Tyson started to decline (not that he'd really care).