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Pluto Demoted to Status of Dwarf Planet

A few weeks ago the International Astronomical Union voted to strip Pluto of its planetary status. The decision will have a huge impact on education in general as well as updating text books, planetary maps, and toys.

The simple fact is that Pluto, the baby of the solar system, has been disowned by the world’s astronomers. Pluto is not big enough and strong enough to push anyone around. That’s what it takes to be a real planet. Only the eight classical planets—Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune— are large enough to be dominant over other smaller celestial bodies in their path. This comes at a time when NASA is sponsoring an eight-year mission to Pluto. The ashes of Pluto’s discoverer Clyde Tombaugh’s body will be aboard the NASA space craft for the Pluto mission.

The controversy over how to define Pluto began several years ago when scientists realized that it was much smaller than it was thought to be when it was discovered in 1930. Early data indicated that it was large enough to disturb the orbits of Neptune and Uranus turned out to be observational errors.

Pluto’s New Status: How It Helps Us Understand the Very Small and Very Large
At a time when microscopes and telescopes were very new, the French mathematician and physicist, Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), wrote about the Two Infinites—the infinitely small and the infinitely large. Pascal pictured humans as living between these “two infinites.” A deeply religious man, Pascal was merely affirming that God’s dominion extends from a universe so vast that it is unimaginable to sub-atomic particles that are too minute for us to imagine.

Modern research and technology provide us with an understanding of the very small and the very large. For instance:
• Through the work of scientists such as Galileo, Kepler, Newton, and Einstein we have come to understand that earth is a very small planet, third in line from an a very average star that is circulating among billions of stars in one of billions of galaxies.
• Through the work of other scientists such as van Leeuwenhoek, Hooke, Pasteur, Dalton, Rutherford, and again Einstein we have come to appreciate the sub-microscopic smallness of cells and atoms.
• This past month biologists have reportedly developed a technique for establishing colonies of human embryonic stem cells from an early human embryo without destroying it. This new technique is sure to raise continuing political and theological debate regarding federal financing for stem cell research.

What Difference Does This Make in My Life?
1. What are some facts about Pluto? Do you know its surface temperature is between 387 and 360 below zero? Do you know a day in Pluto is about 6,387 Earth days? Do you know that Pluto’s maximum distance from the sun is about 4,600 billion miles and its minimum distance is about 2,757 billion miles?

2. Research two or three of the scientists mentioned in this article and summarize their contribution to our understanding of nature.

3. Comment on Pascal’s observation about the place of man in God’s creation. For follow-up discussion: Tell about a time when you have learned about God through the magnificence of his creation.

4. Comment on this quote by Albert Einstein:
“God does not play dice with the universe.” For follow-up discussion: What is the character of the universe: randomness and chaos or order?

5. Comment on this editorial cartoon. The visual shows a student visiting his former teacher. She is now retired. The student greets his former teacher and asks? Remember me? Twenty-six years ago you gave me a “C” on a science quiz for not listing Pluto as one of the planets. For follow-up discussion: Do scientific facts change? Can you give other examples of how scientific facts about the universe have changed?

6. Legend has it that Abraham Lincoln while observing a clear, star-lit night is reported to have said, “It would be easy for someone up there looking down on us to conclude there is no God. But it is impossible for someone looking up from down here to claim there is no God.” For follow-up discussion: What are some examples of how a careful study of science can foster faith?

7. Read and discuss Job 38:1-41. God shows Job the vastness of his creation. He reminds Job who really is in charge of things and he reminds us that our endeavors in science are an attempt to understand God’s awesome power in creation. God chides Job and us by asking, “Do you have any doubts about my power? Were you there when the mountains were made? Can you take over and run the world better?” In other words, Job must let God be God, no second-guessing.

8. Closing prayer.
God of infinite possibilities,
Grant peace to our fragile world.
We believe and trust that your Kingdom
can become a reality now.
Give us confidence in your providence
and the strength to be instruments of your joy and peace
- Bishop Robert Morneau

Connecting to Faith First® Legacy Edition
Theme: God the Creator of Heaven and Earth
Kindergarten, chapter 3
Grade 1, chapter 2
Grade 2, chapter 3
Grade 3, chapter 2
Grade 4, chapter 4
Grade 5, chapter 5
Grade 6, chapter 4
Junior High, Mystery of God, chapter 4
Junior High, Church and Sacraments, chapter 1
Junior High, Morality: Life in Christ, chapter 1
Junior High, Jesus in the New Testament, chapter 1
Special note: The biweekly Current Events articles have also been useful to supplement high school religion classes.

Connecting to Faith First® Original Edition
Theme: God the Creator of Heaven and Earth
Kindergarten, chapter 3
Grade 1, chapter 19
Grade 2, chapter 15
Grade 3, chapter 18
Grade 4, chapter 18
Grade 5, chapter 20
Grade 6, chapter 19
Junior High: Liturgy and Morality, chapter 19
Junior High: Creed and Prayer, chapter 4
Special note: The biweekly Current Events articles have also been useful to supplement high school religion classes.