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Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Vote for Pluto in Adler Planetarium Debate

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytdGSB8AJ1k&feature=share&list=UUFIHgY3OyiWhKi9U2Q8Cl-w This video is great, but it unfortunately does not include enough of the scientific argument for Pluto's planethood. Look at the picture of spherical Pluto and all those tiny rocks in its neighborhood. Unlike those rocks, Pluto is large enough and massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity. It is a complex world with geology and weather. The "Third Rule" classifies objects solely by where they are while ignoring what they are. The overwhelming majority of Kuiper Belt Objects are tiny and shapeless, nowhere near Pluto's size. Those that are large enough to be spherical are planets too, if one utilizes the equally scientific geophysical planet definition, which states that a planet is any non-self-luminous spheroidal body orbiting a star. Dwarf planets are planets too, just small ones. Blurring the distinction between these complex worlds and tiny asteroids is simply bad science. Also, Pluto is about 70% rock.

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