They may be able to claim that anything smaller than Pluto is not a planet. But it was desided long before they came into being that Pluto is a planet. They need to respect those who named it as a planet and retract their claim that it is not.
2006-08-26 11:29:11 · 20 answers · asked by jeb_oi812 3 in Education & Reference ➔ Other - Education
Our ancestors also declared that the world was flat. Times change.
2006-08-26 11:31:26 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
Remember: Pluto was only called a planet in the 1930's. That's not that long ago considering the ancient Greeks knew of most of the other 8 planets thousands of years ago! So the statement "Our ancestors declared Pluto to be a planet..." does not really have much weight.
2006-08-26 11:41:15 · answer #2 · answered by borscht 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ceres used to be a planet, and now it's not.
Scientists needed a definition for what is and isn't a planet. If they kept Pluto, they were going to have to add 3 or 4 more. I'd rather have 8 planets than 12 or 13.
2006-08-26 11:35:40 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Our ancestors also defined African Americans as property. Are you seriously using THAT as your argument? I'm all for keeping Pluto a planet. Taking it out totally throws off My Very Eager Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas, and somewhere, a Styrofoam factory is losing money. THOSE are reasons to argue to keep Pluto a planet. Just because someone in the past said something was doesn't make it so. Besides, I read that "they" are redefining the terms yet again to include Pluto.
2006-08-26 18:38:03 · answer #4 · answered by elizabeth_ashley44 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Actually, the man who discovered Pluto only passed away in 1997.. It was discovered on January 23rd 1930 by an astronomer of the Lowell Observatory whose name was Clyde Tombaugh.
The debate over its actual status is nothing more than a question of how to define the word "planet". More recent discoveries of other objects orbiting the Sun made it necesary to arrive at some consensus as to how to categorize all such objects. Pluto just lost its planet status in the debate.
2006-08-26 11:46:42 · answer #5 · answered by ALLEN F 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Our perception of the universe is constantly changing as time passes and we develpo new technology. What appears to be large now could seem tiny in the future as we look further into the universe. Our ancestors thought that the Earth was the center of the universe, in which eight 'spheres' two of which were the Sun and the Moon, orbited around the Earth in a perfect circle. we now know that the sun is the center of our solar system, and our small system only has eight planets and several planetoids. However, our ancestors were ahead of their time even in their error. By recognizing that, we can look to future and show resoect to the past as well.
2006-08-26 11:43:05 · answer #6 · answered by tommyship2 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The asteroid Ceres was called a planet when it was first discovered in 1801. But then we learned more about it, realized it was smaller than we originally thought and that there were many more objects just like it nearby, so they reclassified it as an asteroid instead. The exact same thing has happened with Pluto - we learned more about it, realized it was smaller than we originally thought and there there are many more objects just like it nearby. It just makes *sense* to reclassify it. Besides, science is done based on facts and observations, not based on what we used to think.
2006-08-26 11:38:08 · answer #7 · answered by kris 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It's just a definition, it's not like Pluto has disappeared. Call it whatever you want. Do you call a dog Canis familaris? Of course not. One part of science is the continuous categorization of the world, and everyone knows science is willing to change when new information is discovered. And these new bodies discovered required a new definition since Pluto is one of them, not one of the planets.
2006-08-26 11:39:15 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
as they say, the only thing constant in t his world is change, so expect everything to be temporary. not just because it was decided by our ancestors, we should be living with it blindly. if it was decided by the astronomers of today that it is not a planet, then it is not!
we have no right to question their decision because they are the ones expert on that matter.
2006-08-29 20:44:46 · answer #9 · answered by jewel 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Pluto is still a planet... that is "dwarf planet" as to astronomers. I think they should ask tho discoverer what he thinks.
2006-08-26 11:35:19 · answer #10 · answered by Daniel Ira L. Cuevas 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋