Pluto, the Weird Kid Hanging on the Fringes
When American astronomer Clyde W. Tombaugh first discovered Pluto in 1930, it was thought that the planet was roughly the same size as earth. Now, it’s known that it is actually smaller than our moon. With its wonky elongated orbit, and funky orbital plane, it acts more like a number of other objects in the Kuiper Belt than like the other eight bodies in our solar system to whom we give the designation “Planet”. Purists have thought for years that Pluto didn’t deserve to be called a planet, and insist that there are only eight.
With the recent discovery of Xena, which is further away from the sun than Pluto, and apparently larger, the debate has been raised and over the next 12 days, astronomers will be faced with the difficult choice of deciding the fate of this little planet that could. I, for one am shocked at the level of intolerance for wonkiness among it’s planetary bodies. (No. “wonkiness” is not a word. Yes I made it up. Did you have any questions as to its meaning?)
Sure… Pluto is smaller than the other kidsâÂ?¦ the runt of the planets. Yes. Some planets have moons with a more significant mass than this tiny brownish yellow body we call Pluto. Yes, Pluto has an elongated orbit and yes, it marches to its own orbital plain. Is that any reason to criticize it? In its own way, it’s doing the best that it can. It may never be as bright or big as some of its siblings, but I appreciate that it’s willing to go out on a limbâÂ?¦ to be different. Good on you Pluto!
Now I know I can’t force the astronomical community to accept Pluto for the planet that it is any more than I can get George Bush to accept that gay marriage won’t destroy the foundation of our society, but I can stand in support of the little planet. I feel sort of bad for the little guy. Now, with the introduction of Xena, Pluto is just that much smaller and less significant. It’s hard out there for a planet these days. A lot of people don’t know it, but the largest moon in our solar system is Ganymede, one of Jupiter’s moons. It’s not only larger than Pluto but it’s larger than Mercury too. Saturn’s moon, Titan is also larger than Mercury and Pluto.
So what’s next? Does size really matter? If the scientific community downgrades Pluto then, is Mercury next? Mercury and Venus are the only planets that don’t have moons. Is that another strike against Mercury? Say what you want about Pluto. It at least has a moon, Charon. Sure, it’s not Jupiter, with its overkill of 62 moons (Just what are you trying to prove Jupiter?), or even Saturn with its 33 or Uranus with 27 moons, but hey! The little guy brought along as many tagalongs as Earth. The way I see it, Mercury is a better candidate to be kicked out of the gang than Pluto. So what? Pluto hangs out of the fringes and does its own thing. At least it has a moon. What does Mercury have to recommend it? It hangs onto the sun like a puppy on a tit. At least Pluto has the stones to be unique. Maybe these yahoos in Prague are trying to kick the wrong planet out of the gang! How long are we going to sit idly by and not demand that the solar system wean the little mercury from its mother?
Pluto� this is for you baby! There may be some bigger, brighter kids out there, but you are a-ok in my book. You are an inspiration to us all. DOWN WITH MERCURY!
