March 22nd, 2007
Pluto in New Mexico
Posted by
chrislintott in
Uncategorized
New Mexico is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been, but I’d be careful about saying I was an astronomer around there right now. They’re so upset about the demotion of Pluto (discovered by local Clyde Tombaugh) that their senate has decided that it will be a planet when it passes through their airspace.
on March 22nd, 2007 at 3:54 pm
Well, its not all that surprising, after all, US congress was able to change time! So why not the status of a planet if only intermittently?
Daylight Savings three weeks early….who would have thought?
on March 22nd, 2007 at 7:54 pm
The California Assembly has debated an even better bill, although one suspects it is a tad tongue in cheek here and there .. here are some extracts :
“WHEREAS, Pluto, named after the Roman God of the underworld and affectionately sharing the name of California’s most famous animated dog, has a special connection to California history and culture; and
WHEREAS, Downgrading Pluto’s status will cause psychological harm to some Californians who question their place in the universe and worry about the instability of universal constants; and
WHEREAS, The deletion of Pluto as a planet renders millions of text books, museum displays, and children’s refrigerator art projects obsolete, and represents a substantial unfunded mandate that must be paid by dwindling Proposition 98 education funds, thereby harming California’s children and widening its budget deficits; and”
Great stuff. I am abit worried that the IAU subscription will need to go up to pay for those altered Californian textbooks…
on March 23rd, 2007 at 2:44 pm
Didn’t Indiana state once pass a ruling that the value of pi is four, meaning that for a start clocks would gain about 15 minutes every hour? Must re-read The Book of Heroic Failures.
on March 28th, 2007 at 7:45 am
I’d love to know since when New Mexico’s air space has extended 4 billion miles into the solar system. Or even New Mexico’s air, come to that!