Category: Random Thoughts

The planet-like body formerly known as Pluto has received yet another hit to its ego. I heard on the news this morning that this planet-like body is now “Minor Planet 134340” (transcript not yet available for linking). So it’s not a Dwarf Planet any more? This is getting more interesting by the day. All my life I figured the names and number of the planets were one of the least contested facts around. Whoa Nelly, was I ever wrong! Let this be a lesson unto me…

A quick search revealed conflicting information. I found a lot of people repeating the language of the newscast this morning: Pluto is just a number, blah, blah, blah. But no official body was weighing in to actually say definitively that Pluto wasn’t Pluto any more. Oh, and the Wikipedia entry has been locked down because of recent vandalism and revert wars. Yes, that’s right, people feel so strongly about this subject that there are revert wars going on over at dear old Wikipedia, and at least one guy’s feelings are hurt.

Science.com‘s post, “Pluto is now just a number: 134340,” pointed me toward the source of the confusion. Apparently, the Minor Planet Center (MPC) has added Pluto to its catalog of minor planets and assigned it its new number, but has not actually removed it’s Dwarf Planet status. Here’s what the MPC says in one of the Electronic Circulars for September 7th:

It should be noted that, just as some of the numbered objects that have exhibited cometary activity also have designations in the catalogue of numbered periodic comets, the numbering of “dwarf planets” does not preclude their having dual designations in possible separate catalogues of such bodies. (MPEC 2006-R19)

So Pluto is now both a Dwarf Planet named “Pluto” and a “numbered object” with the designation 134340. Tune in five minutes from now for the poor thing’s next controversial designation.

Related Posts:

• The Dwarfish Word on Pluto
• Pluto is a … Pluton
• Priorities; or Universe-Shifting News

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I was nearing the end of a long post… and my browser froze and then crashed. Grrrrrr!

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I’m home again, home again after my first full week of pure relaxation since I started working here. I really must do this more often. It’s not like they don’t give me enough vacation days.

Ah, well. Live and learn.

I’m a little luckier than most in that classes don’t start here until two weeks from today. Of course, I’ll pay the piper come June, when we’re still in session and everybody else is running off to their lake homes, but June’s so very far away. And things have really started to ramp up in the library already.

Yes, I’m already thinking with misty eyes and a fond heart of all the little “side” projects I’d wanted to finish by now and haven’t. (I’ve been doing a decent job with the important jobs, but they aren’t always the fun jobs.) For example, there’s my practice wiki. Apparently, it couldn’t compete with the much-needed revamping of my current subject pages. But I promise, little wiki, I’ll get back to you later. I also really wanted to continue planning for our dream research portal and learn more about web design. There were also books to read, research to complete for a paper I’ve been working on, and the list goes on and on and on. Like Liz, many of my summer resolutions fell victim to everything from conferences to late evenings with a book and the sunset.

I can tell you one thing I’m glad of, though, even with the summer coming to an end. I’m glad of the return of routine. I’m a creature of habit, and when my routine is thrown off I flounder. I even give up such easy things as taking my vitamins in the morning if I’ve been disrupted! I love a change but I need the changes to give way to blessed sameness every once in a while, even if that sameness consists of insanely busy work days.

I’m also glad that this isn’t my first year at this job any more. I can build on last year rather than start from scratch all over again. So I guess that’s two things I’m glad of.

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