The De-Planetization of Pluto: A Lesson in Science

Not many people can say that they have a favorite astrophysicist.  But I do.  I enjoy Neil deGrasse Tyson, the head of the Hayden Planetarium in New York.  He is a large, likable fellow who exudes enthusiasm for science, especially astronomy.  It has been awhile since Pluto was declassified as a planet, but for some reason it is still an issue I hear about.  The topic provides an opportunity to look at what science really is.


Dr. Tyson was at the front of the Pluto Controversy.  When remodeling the planetarium's exhibit on the Solar System, Dr. Tyson's team decided to remove Pluto from the list of planets.  And no one noticed for a year!  Eventually, the public noticed and people became angry.  Apparently, now that Pluto is no longer a planet the kids will have more difficulty learning about the Solar System.  Interestingly, saying "Pluto is no longer a planet" implies that Pluto was in fact a planet and that something happened to the tiny ball of ice.  Alternatively, you could say that Pluto was never a planet in the first place and had been wrongly categorized since its discovery.




One of these two approaches demonstrates good science teaching while the other offers a shallow interpretation of science.  What we know is that Pluto was never actually a Planet in the sense of our other planets.  It just doesn't fit.  Our inner solar system contains rocky planets, while our outer solar system feature gas giants.  Pluto is, well, mostly ice.  Planets should be much, much larger than their moons.  Pluto, um, is not much larger than it's moon, Charon.  In fact, Pluto and Charon orbit about each other instead of the way our moon orbits around the Earth.  Pluto's solar orbit looks nothing like that of the other planets, and is much more similar to the path of Kuiper Belt objects, where Pluto belongs.


But, we could simply learn that science means to memorize the order of the planets, that names of bones, the types of animals and on and on.  But that is not science.  Science shows us how to look at the world and understand it, not just what it is.  We have to promote good science education if we want to improve our rank in the world.  That means learning about why we group objects together and not with others. 


Here is The Daily Show interview with Dr. Tyson about his book, The Pluto Files.  In it, he talks about the classification of Pluto, science education, and the thousands of letters he received from people, including hate-mail from third graders who can't read cursive writing.

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