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 “My
Very Educated Mother Just Showed Us Nine Planets”… a well-worn mnemonic
(memory aid) that represents the order of the planets in the Solar
System; M is Mercury, V is Venus, E is Earth, M is Mars, J is Jupiter, S
is Saturn, U is Uranus… But, the last two are a bit confusing. Why?
Because there are no more ‘Nine’ (N is Neptune) planets in the universe
and ‘P’ Pluto is not a planet anymore!!!Pluto is now a Dwarf Planet! Yes, all of you already know that. But have you stopped to think how ‘down grading’ Pluto has affected our lives? No? Let’s do it now. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has recently demoted Pluto from the status of a planet, acquired in 1930. The IAU, founded in 1919, serves as the internationally recognised authority for assigning designations to celestial bodies and any surface features on them. Now there are just eight planets, at least three dwarf planets (Pluto, Ceres, and Eris) and tens of thousands of “smaller solar system bodies,” like comets and asteroids. But, this reclassification has met with a lot of objection. Only about 500 of the 2,400 astronomers registered at the meeting gave the final votes. They strongly feel that the definition needs more work. And more detailing. However, IAU’s decision is already affecting various aspects of our lives. Educational books now need to be revised. Teachers and publishers have to update textbooks and lessons used in classrooms for decades. The World Book Encyclopedia, for example, held the presses for its new 2007 edition until Pluto’s status could be clarified. It is affecting the “industry of astronomical artifacts and toys”. Toys and models of the solar system have become outdated. Another set of stargazers might bear the repercussion of Pluto’s changed status: astrologers! Astrologers believe that Pluto has a powerful pull on the human psyche and affairs. Many astrologers say they will continue to regard Pluto as a planet despite the astronomers’ decision! Above all, kids are facing a lot of trouble adjusting to this downgrading of Pluto’s status.
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