In The Field

Plutons, planets and dwarves

Geologists and astronomers wrangle over words.

On 16 August the International Astronomical Union (IAU) floated a proposal for a definition of the word ‘planet’, in part to end the confusion about whether Pluto is a planet or not. But their solution, which assigns Pluto and its neighbours to a subset of planets called ‘Plutons’, is so far just creating more confusion and angst.

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