IAU: No, You Can't Name That Exoplanet

First off IAU has no authority to tell the public what they can and can't "officially" name anything neither do they have the right to redefine terms used by the public for thousands of years such as "planet".

Thousands of years ago, the Moon and the Sun were planets, and Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto were blurs below the level of visibility, even Tycho Brache's eyes. Pluto was a planet for less time than the Buddha was on the Calendar Of Saints (before the Christians actually talked to Buddhists, rather than hearing of him third or worse hand), so I can grimace and bear it.

Second how can any of us be certain these exoplanets are actually planets since I doubt we can really tell whether they have yet to clear their neighborhood?

Now THAT is a good one! Let them be hoisted on their own plutard!

Finally spending money to name/vote on planets is a fairly seedy activity leaving me with a low opinion of both organizations.

Actually, the IAU no more names these "planets" than does the IUPAC "name" fr

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/71GqkxNqUOg/story01.htm

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