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Is Pluto still a planet or was it demoted?

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The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has indicated that Pluto is the largest Transneptunian Object (TNO). I think that the IAU permits Pluto to remain as a planet while secretly referring to Pluto regularly as a TNO.

If there has been a larger TNO, it is news to me. I will need to go back to the IAU's site to find if anything new has transpired in this regard.

I believe that Pluto rightfully belongs in the TNO designation, but people hate change and it will take several generations to make the change stick. If everybody told their children that there were only 8 planets, it might happen faster. However, most parents tell their children next-to-nothing about astronomy.

I believe that astronomers and astrophysicists should study the universe systematically and making allowances for the preferences of parents and their children would make a mockery of science. Quietly, the astronomers and astrophysicists will go about their important business. I hope that the IAU quietly follows scientific principles and does not cave into public taste.

ljbrs

"Nothing is more damaging to a new truth than an old error." Goethe

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...I hope you like the Janacek too. It's quite imaginative.

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"psssst...hey Chip...which Janácek did you send? My personal faves are the Sinfonietta, the Glagolitic Mass, and Taras Bulba."

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