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Alas, poor Pluto — we barely knew thee well By Michael C. Guilmette Jr. Originally published on Aug. 31, 2006, in the Niles Daily Star. Since I was a child, I always hoped I would live to see the day when astronomers would find another planet. Never did I believe I would live to see us lose one.
The Kuiper belt, that shadowy domain out past the orbit of Neptune, is known to contain at least six objects approaching Pluto’s size. One object, designated 2003 UB313 — nicknamed “Xena” after the campy yet popular action-adventure show — is actually larger than Pluto, approaching the size of our own moon. Truthfully, we know little about the distant king of the dwarf planets. Pluto was discovered in 1930, yet we still have no idea what it really looks like. We found in 1978 that Pluto had a moon, Charon, and with the help of the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope, we have discovered Pluto to have three more tiny moons. However, considering how littered the backwoods of our system is, we really do not know if this is a common occurrence or not. NASA’s New Horizons probe, launched in January, will finally give us a close-up view of the humble dwarf planet in 2015, so some questions will be answered. The IAU has ruffled some feathers with their ruling, but they have made a strong case — so much so that I believe we should possibly consider reclassifying other things we presently take for granted. Take, for example, Antarctica. This frozen desert at the bottom of the Earth has long been considered a continent, but let’s look at a few facts. Antarctica may float on its own tectonic plate, but so does India. Antarctica looks massive, rivaling Australia, but underneath the three-mile thick ice sheet is a disjointed landmass and not a single body. Furthermore, Antarctica has no indigenous human population. But what would we call Antarctica, if not a continent? Well, India is already called the “sub-continent,” so we already have a workable sub-category. Then there’s Europe. Tectonically, it is joined with Asia, so perhaps the land and the people that have tried for many centuries to run the world should be considered Asian. After all, Asia is already the largest continent, so it only seems fitting. It’s ironic this ruling was made in Europe, since many rulings affecting the planet originated in the same place. I’m kind of surprised they didn’t rename Pluto “New France.” Closer to home, some of our states may need to be reconsidered as well. Neither Alaska or Hawaii are contiguous states. Perhaps they should be thrown into the “far-flung state” grouping. New England is home to what should be categorized as “dwarf states,” since Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont and New Hampshire fill a space smaller than Michigan. Speaking of Michigan, the Great Lake State presents a unique category of its own — it is divided in to two peninsulas. The Upper Peninsula — my beloved fatherland — has long wanted to break away to become the state of Superior, but has generally lacked the resources to support itself. However, with all the casino money floating around up there, us Yoopers could become a Nevada of the north, but somehow I doubt the future former Governor Granholm would allow us to do so. All jesting aside, the change in Pluto’s status serves to demonstrate the changing nature of scientific discovery. Many things we have believed before are found to be in need of modification as we learn more about the world around us. When asked about the change, Niles High School science teacher said the change will get her students asking questions, and this is what we want students doing. If changes spurn curiosity in the minds of our young, perhaps an independent Yooperland isn’t a bad idea. But, I can only dream. • Guilmette is managing editor of the Niles Daily Star. He may be contacted at mguilmette@leaderpub.com. |
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Copyright © 2006, Michael C. Guilmette Jr. |
A week ago, the International Astronomical Union voted in Prague to change Pluto’s status to that of a dwarf planet. Perhaps this is just as well, since the former ninth planet’s claim to planethood has grown especially dubious with the discovery of more and even larger objects on the outskirts of the Solar system.
