THE PLUTONIAN NEWS NETWORK
SAVE PLUTO!
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HERE TO SIGN THE PETITION
PLANET PLUTO EXPO!
Tombaugh Birthplace to celebrate Planet Pluto
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March
12 2008 (PNN) Correspondent Laurel Kornfeld
was recently interviewed on
The
recording is through the "Contours" program and occurs in the middle
of the broadcast, about 17 and a half minutes in.
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NON-STORY OF THE WEEK:
Eris larger than Pluto? - Old News
A PLUTONIAN NEWS NETWORK EDITORIAL
June 19, 2007 (PNN) Some news sources including
CNN
and The
San Francisco Chronicle are making much of the news that the latest
measurements of tenth planet Eris indicate that it is more massive than ninth
planet Pluto. Of course, the fact that Eris is larger than Pluto is not news at
all. When Michael Brown discovered Eris in 2005, it was announced that Eris (or
Xena, as it was then called) was larger than Pluto. Whether Eris is larger than
Pluto is irrelevant to the issue of Pluto’s status as a planet; since Eris was
discovered, there was little doubt that it would be classified in the same category
as Pluto.
That CNN and other generally science-impaired “news”
sources didn’t understand that can be written-off as another sad commentary on
the educational system. Emily L. Schaller of the California Institute of
Technology, who fed them at least part of the story, doesn’t get off the hook
that easily, she obviously knows better and was engaging in a little sophistry.
Schaller, who is a “co-worker” of Brown’s (and shares his anti-Pluto agenda),
was quoted as saying “This is sort of Pluto's last stand.”
I don’t think so Ms. Schaller. The only theory that
your little news plant adds support to is the theory that you can catch
“asshole” from your co-workers.
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PLANET PLUTO EXPO!
Tombaugh Birthplace to celebrate Planet Pluto
May 12 2007 (PNN/Pantagraph.com) Tourism officials in
Adults are invited to hear
On May 19, the expo will move to the Knights of
Columbus Hall on
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IT’S OFFICIAL: PLUTO IS A PLANET
March 13, 2007 (PNN) As expected, The New Mexico State Legislature passed House
Joint Memorial 54, which fully recognizes Pluto’s Planetary status and
proclaims that March 13, 2007, be declared “Pluto Planet Day.” Seeking to
preserve the legacy of Clyde Tombaugh, the longtime New Mexican who discovered
the ninth planet, the measure passed New
Mexico's House of Representatives, 70-0. Among those in the gallery when
the measure was passed was Patsy Tombaugh, the 94-year-old widow of Clyde, and
his daughter, Annette Tombaugh-Sitze — both of
"In a way, it's saying that the state is supporting
the fact it should be a planet," said Patsy Tombaugh,
"I think it's nice they did that." Some of Clyde Tombaugh's ashes are
on board the New
Horizons spacecraft, which set out for Pluto in early 2006. It's scheduled
to pass by Pluto in 2015. Patsy Tombaugh talked about the movement among many
astronomers to grant Pluto back its planetary status, and she says "It will
always be a planet to me — no matter what they decide to do."
Tombaugh-Sitze said her
father would have been pleased with the House's move. "I'm thrilled,"
she said. "It brings back a little of Pluto's dignity." Patsy
Tombaugh said the House memorial gives recognition not only to her late
husband, but also to
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March 13th To Be Declared “Planet Pluto Day”
March 8, 2007 (PNN) The State of
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Plutonian Receives Major NASA Appointment
Dr. Alan
Stern To Lead
February 14, 2007 (SPX/PNN) Dr. S. Alan Stern, an outspoken
critic of the International
Astronomical Union’s
fraudulent redefinition of the word “planet,” has been named NASA's Associate
Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate. In his new position,
Stern will direct a wide variety of research and scientific exploration
programs for Earth studies, space weather, the solar system and the universe
beyond. In addition, he will manage a broad spectrum of grant-based research
programs and spacecraft projects to study Earth and the universe.
Last August, when the IAU issued the ruling that attempted to strip
Pluto of its planetary status, Dr. Stern called the ruling “Sloppy
Science” and “Embarrassing.” In an interview with Deborah Byrd from EarthSky.org last month, Dr. Stern called
the IAU’s new definition of a planet “Indefensible.”
♦
NEW HORIZONS PROJECT
RELEASES NEW PROMO
“Movie Trailer” look and
feel a new direction for NASA
February 14, 2007 (SpaceRef.com/PNN) The New Horizons Project has released a new video, one that is a radical departure from NASA’s staid and sterile animations of the past. The video is made to look like a Movie Trailer, but instead of being a preview to an upcoming film, in this case it is a preview of New Horizon’s trip to the Planets Jupiter and Pluto, and into the Kuiper Belt.
Mike Buckley, Kerri Beisser and others at APL put this video together. The person behind the New Horizons mission is PI Alan Stern - soon to be the new Science Mission Directorate Associate Administrator at NASA Headquarters. Are videos like this a preview of things to come? Click here to see the video.
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BOYCOTT
the
A PLUTONIAN NEWS NETWORK EDITORIAL
December 18, 2006 (PNN) Fans of Pluto ask me all
the time – “I know that Pluto is a planet, what can I do to help correct this outrage?” Of course, if you
want to help, the first thing to do is sign the petition.
That sends the message that this assault on Pluto, and science, is
unacceptable, and must be corrected.
Another important thing that you can do is to refuse
to accept this outrage in your everyday life. Send the message to those who are
attempting to foist this upon us that we will never accept this arbitrary and
capricious re-definition of the word “planet.” Take every opportunity to
correct people when they refer to Pluto as anything other than a planet.
Finally, I urge all of you to vote with your wallet.
In 2000, when the Hayden Planetarium (part of the
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SURVEY SAYS: KEEP PLUTO
Kids Say 'Keep Pluto the Ninth Planet!' in Discovery
Channel Store Survey
September 18, 2006
(PRNewswire/PNN) The
votes are in and the kids of
The unofficial survey generated
more than 15,000 votes in Discovery Channel Stores and on Discoverystore.com. More than 13,000
were cast in favor of Pluto remaining in the family of nine planets, compared
to less than 2,000 who voted to support the decision by the IAU.
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FRIENDS OF PLUTO PROTEST IAU DECISION
“SIZE DOESN’T MATTER”
September 2, 2006 (AP/PNN) Friends and colleagues of
the late Clyde Tombaugh, the astronomer who discovered the planet Pluto,
gathered on the
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ASTRONOMERS REJECT DEMOTION OF PLUTO
August 31, 2006 (PNN) Hundreds
of Planetary Scientists and Astronomers have signed a special petition
denouncing the IAU’s flawed definition of the word
“Planet” and are pledging not to use it! In a press
release announcing the petition, organizer Dr. Mark Sykes, director of the Planetary Science Institute in
Press
Release announcing the Petition
Petition Protesting
the IAU Planet Definition
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FRAUD!!!
Last-minute maneuver takes Pluto off the list of
planets.
August 24, 2006 (PNN) Opponents of planetary status for Pluto waited until the
vast majority of delegates had left the 10-day General Assembly of the International Astronomical
Union and then rammed through a hastily thrown-together definition of “Planet”
in a fraudulent effort to remove Pluto from the list of planets.
But fear not! Not everyone is ready to
march goose-step with Neil
deGrasse Tyson and those of his ilk. The lead scientist on NASA's
robotic mission to Pluto, Alan Stern,
has slammed the International Astronomical Union ruling that stripped Pluto of
its planet status. Stern, who leads the US space agency's New Horizons mission
to Pluto and did not vote in Prague, told BBC News: "It's an awful
definition; it's sloppy science and it would never pass peer review for two reasons:
"Firstly,
it is impossible and contrived to put a dividing line between dwarf planets and
planets. It's as if we declared people not people for some arbitrary reason,
like 'they tend to live in groups'."
"Secondly,
the actual definition is even worse, because it's inconsistent."
Stern
called the decision "embarrassing" and is leading a fierce backlash
against the decision by the IAU to attempt to strip Pluto of its status.
Even Owen Gingerich, Harvard professor emeritus and chair of the committee that
the IAU set up to oversee agreement on the definition of “planet” implied that
the vote had effectively been "hijacked". The vote took place at the IAU's 10-day general assembly of more than 2,500
astronomers in
Selected Links:
Indian
Planetary Society asks IAU to reconsider demotion of Pluto
BBC NEWS |
Science/Nature | Pluto vote 'hijacked' in revolt
NASA expert
blasts Pluto demotion - The Times of India
Society for the Preservation of Pluto
as a Planet
They Demoted Pluto –
Jimmy and the Keyz
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This shall not stand!
We at PNN promise to fight
the demotion of Pluto. Plans are
in the works for rallies,
protests and boycotts.
More details as they develop!
Contact us: