In case you haven’t heard, astronomers got together and decided to redefine planet. Basically, it’s now anything round that orbits a star. (You need enough mass/gravity to get to the point where the body is spherical.) This adds several new planets to the solar system. Pluto and Charon are now planets. Charon is not actually Pluto’s moon, despite what you’ve heard, since they both orbit a centerpoint. I’ve been more inclined to think that Pluto-Charon is a double-asteroid, not a planet. I mean, c’mon, its orbit is way titled compared to the other 8 planets. With this new definition, even Ceres is considered a planet.

It’s not that bad a definition, but I can’t help thinking that we would have 8 planets if people weren’t so wedded to Pluto. Wah-wah you have to shorten your mnemonic device because that stupid thing isn’t a planet. Now look what you’ve done. Pandora’s box is opened. We will have lots more planets to come and now you’ll never memorize all of them.

In fact, screw science. Planets should be more like continents. Our definition of continent doesn’t match the geologist’s definition. Why can’t a planet be something more attuned to the layman?