After nearly a decade in the wilderness of celestial classification, Pluto is on the rise again. In 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) voted to adopt a new definition of what makes a body a planet, and to specifically demote Pluto to the status of dwarf planet. Now, with new data and images streaming in from New Horizons showing that Pluto is not only a little larger than previously thought, but also home to some remarkable geological features (including what may be some of the solar system's youngest mountain peaks, reaching to 11,000 ft/3,353 m high), many are saying it's time to restore the ninth planet to its previous station.
Perhaps not surprisingly, some of the most prominent advocates for Pluto are scientists working on the New Horizons mission, which reached the closest point of its long-awaited Pluto fly-by on July 14.
"We are free to call it a planet right now," Philip Metzger, a planetary scientist on the New Horizons mission, told DW.com. "Science is not decided by votes ... the planetary science community has never stopped calling bodies like Pluto 'planets'."
Really, isn't it time to re-classify Pluto as a dog?
(Score: 1) by Pino P on Sunday July 19 2015, @01:06PM
It's copyright, patent or trademark, and those are the only choices.
You appear to have forgotten trade secret, right of publicity, and several of the newer sui generis exclusive rights such as those in integrated circuit layouts, ship hull designs, databases, or plant varieties.
"IP" is a lie.
It may be a lie, but it's a lie that has made its way into the United States Code. Section 230 [eff.org] of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 uses the phrase.