Saturday, March 17, 2007

New Mexico's Pluto

New Mexico's proposed legislation that Pluto is a planet when in New Mexico's skies raises an interesting question in astro-geography. By extending New Mexico's borders vertically into outer space, when, if ever, is Pluto in New Mexico's airspace? The plane of the ecliptic suggests never, but Pluto's orbit is inclined, so perhaps. One could create a chart of which celestial bodies are "owned" by which country or state at any given point in time.

The International Astronomical Union, against whom New Mexico's legislation is directly at odds, nevertheless did not disapprove the legislation in a very enlightened way, stating that any public debate on Pluto's status increases public interest and study of astronomy. It's as if mathematicians came out in support of legislation defining the value of pi in Indiana to be 4.

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