Nearly four years after Pluto lost its official planet status, the confusion on how to treat the distant, downgraded neighbor remains in orbit.
In classrooms that haven't ordered new textbooks since the International Astronomical Union voted to classify Pluto as a dwarf planet in 2006, educators have to tell students what they're reading is wrong.
"Pluto is a very interesting subject for students because most of them learned in elementary school that Pluto was a planet," said Amy Carpenter-Deyoe, a math and science teacher at Booth-Fickett Math-Science Magnet School. "Some of them will already know that Pluto is no longer classified as a planet, although they usually don't know why, while others are quite surprised."
Carpenter-Deyoe said her books and classroom models still refer to Pluto as a planet, but she says that's OK because the antiquated labeling adds to the educational value of the lesson.
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"We start by brainstorming what all eight planets we've learned about have in common. They typically come up with good ones: They're round, they go around the sun, they're big, etc. Then I ask them which of these aren't true for Pluto," Carpenter-Deyoe said.
"Most of them will say that Pluto is too small to be a planet - a very common misconception. Planets are called planets because we say they are, and we've been saying it for so long that our understanding of the universe had outgrown our definition. So a group of astronomers sat down and worked out a new, modern definition. At the end of this process, they realized that Pluto didn't meet all of these new requirements. So Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet."
The reclassification still irks Larry Lebofsky, a retired University of Arizona research scientist who now works part time with the UA in an educational-outreach capacity.
"The IAU vote does not matter," he said, referring to the International Astronomical Union. "Look at this from the scientific point of view. Science is not decided by a vote," Lebofsky said. "It's all so silly. Saying Pluto is not a planet is like saying a whale is in the water, therefore by definition is a fish. That makes about as much sense."
Joan Gilbert, science program coordinator for the Tucson Unified School District regional science center, which shares resources with Sunnyside and Flowing Wells schools, said there's been a discussion for years on how to handle Pluto. It's up to the individual teacher, but the general understanding is to accept the IAU vote. But she said the confusion over Pluto is welcome because it sparks curiosity and questions, which are what science is all about.
"Science teachers are definitely responsible for making sure they keep updated information about topics and the teaching of topics according to the state standard," Gilbert said.
"There's a very strong inquiry strand, which is called the nature of science and the history of science. We are not factoid-based, which is really good because it puts the responsibility on the teacher, who is a professional, to decide how to teach Pluto."
DID YOU KNOW?
The International Astronomical Union voted in 2006 to demote Pluto from planet to dwarf after discoveries of other Plutolike objects made it incumbent to either expand the list of planets or reconsider the definition.
The Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff had claimed it was the only spot in the United States from which a planet had been discovered. Clyde William Tombaugh discovered Pluto from there in 1930.
Contact reporter Phil Villarreal at 573-4130 or pvillarreal@azstarnet.com
