http://www.switched.com/2009/07/28/morning-xtra-pluto-a-planet-again-bing-and-yahoo-coming-toget/ Switched Comments for Morning Xtra: Pluto a Planet Again? Bing and Yahoo! Coming Together? http://www.switched.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.switched.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.switched.com/2009/07/28/morning-xtra-pluto-a-planet-again-bing-and-yahoo-coming-toget/http://www.switched.com/2009/07/28/morning-xtra-pluto-a-planet-again-bing-and-yahoo-coming-toget/
The IAU should take responsibility for the highly flawed definition and make the much needed changes, specifically amending its resolution to establish dwarf planets as a subclass of planets. However, the IAU should not be viewed as the sole authority on the definition of planet. Many planetary scientists do not belong to the IAU. Should they not have a say in this matter? Something does not become fact simply because a tiny group that calls itself an authority says so. It is significant that hundreds of planetary scientists led by New Horizons Principal Investgator Alan Stern immediately signed a formal petition opposing the IAU definition.

There are other venues through which a planet definition can be determined, such as last year's Great Planet Debate at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab. ]]>Jul 28th 2009 5:35PM