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.
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4 Comments to “Pluto in New Mexico”
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Maile on March 22, 2007
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?
Andy Lawrence on March 22, 2007
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…
Alice Sheppard on March 23, 2007
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.
Paul on March 28, 2007
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!