Irish astronomer sticks to her story and explains why Pluto is not a planet

One of the scientists who was there when they down graded Pluto has defended the decision to call the ice ball a dwarf planet.

Remember when you were thought about the solar system in school? Well, it’s all bull and has been since August 2006. Back in the day, we were told that Pluto was the ninth planet, but what we were told was wrong.

This problem was confronted back in August 2006 when the International Astronomy Union met in Prague to discuss space matters. Such as who was better, Kirk or Picard. After drawing a blank on that one, they decided that Pluto was not a planet and downgraded it to a dwarf planet, which there are millions.

The decision in particular angered Americans, reports the Irish Times, who have a special attachment to Pluto given it was discovered by an American astronomer, Clyde Tombaugh, in 1930.

But one astronomer is sticking to her guns and defending the decision. That astronomer is Irish-born scientist Dame Jocelyn Bell-Burnell, who last night, in Astronomy Ireland’s Christmas lecture in Trinity College, defended the decision taken five years ago.

She said the decision was taken because the outer solar system is full of millions of potential objects such as Pluto. These objects will be discovered with bigger and better telescopes when the time comes. Pluto is not unique in the eyes of astronomers and it is not considered a ‘boss’ among the other objects floating about with it, which is one of the major deciding factors for making something a planet, apparently.

“The consensus among astronomers is that something had to be done. It was getting silly. There are a lot of these so-called trans-Neptunian objects. It is absolutely clear that there are millions of them.”

Well so much for science class.