Hoping to end the agonizing over whether Pluto is really a planet, an international committee of astronomers has come up with a new definition that would save the tiny body's place in the sun's family.
Under the long-awaited proposal, Pluto would remain in the pantheon of planets by becoming the prototype of a new subcategory of small, outer solar system objects dubbed "plutons" -- planets, but distinct from the eight larger "classical" planets closer to the sun.
Is Pluto a planet or not. I've been agonizing over this for years. My life will not be complete until they decide. As for a "pluton."
What the hell is a pluton? What a stupid name. Political correctness run amok in the astronomical community. Let Pluto be a planet and newer objects of the same size can be... say ... PLOOS's. Planet Size Objects Orbiting the Sun. There, problem solved. What a tough solution.
Too many problem-solving sessions become battlegrounds where decisions are made based on power rather than intelligence. Margaret J. Wheatley
