Reported in the Boston Globe… Scientists, while trying to determine whether or not to exclude Pluto from the list of planets, changed the definition of a planet to avoid damaging the self esteem of 3 bodies — the body formerly known as a moon of Pluto, an asteroid, and a recently discovered object that scientists had named Xena.
…OK, all sarcasm aside, this may or may not be a great scientific breakthrough — according to the article, we may now have dozens of planets, most of which are currently considered asteroids. It doesn’t look like a new “discovery” more than a new “definition,” which will give astronomers more to do while looking for new data to come in.
I do think school textbook writers aren’t going to enjoy this, though the salesmen will be ecstatic.
