# Pluto No LONGER a Planet? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 26, 2006, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-no-longer-a-planet/370316 "2006-08-26T13:22:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2006, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-no-longer-a-planet/370316/1 "2006-08-26T13:22:09Z")
What do astrologers have to say about this? Is my horoscope about to be revised? And, adding planets…will this affect my destiny as well? Or are all the existant horoscopes in error? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2006, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-no-longer-a-planet/370316/2 "2006-08-26T13:31:47Z")
Is Pluto even in astrological charts? You can’t see it naked eye, you know. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2006, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-no-longer-a-planet/370316/3 "2006-08-26T13:59:24Z")
[Pluto still a high-flyer for astrologers](http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060824/sc_nm/life_pluto_science_dc_1) > [@](#): > > Russell Grant, a British astrologer and best-selling author, said Pluto’s planetary demotion was not a surprise after years of discussion and he would not change the charts he uses for his clients or millions of visitors to his Web site. > … > “I will continue to use Pluto because he gives me the ability to look into people’s charts and see where they’re coming from psychologically,” he said. > … > “There is now quite a bit of interest now in the astrological community about Xena,” Lehman said, without being able to predict whether the body would have a significant impact on astrology. > > Grant said Xena had limited use as its position meant it would currently only affect people whose sun signs were in Pisces and Aries, just two of 12 constellations in the zodiac ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2006, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-no-longer-a-planet/370316/4 "2006-08-26T14:21:11Z")
L I B Pluto IS on the astrological charts So, I wonder how all those Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud objects affect my readings? And what about Galactic Halo stars? Is the Microwave Background Radiation being taken into account, too? :dubious: about the whole thing anyways, just surprised about what’s included. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2006, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-no-longer-a-planet/370316/5 "2006-08-26T14:35:55Z")
In the 1980s Isaac Asimov argued for a “[mesoplanet](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesoplanet)” category, of which Pluto would be the first member but which specifically excluded Ceres. The new “dwarf planet” designation is a bit more generous. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2006, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-no-longer-a-planet/370316/6 "2006-08-26T15:17:26Z")
[QUOTE=ralph124c] Or are all the existant horoscopes in error? 😕 [/QUOTE] Of course, since the Sun can be in 13 constellations rather than the 12 included in the traditional Zodiac (the other being Ophiuchus) and the planets can be in [29 constellations](http://www.geocities.com/astrologyzodiacs/planetaryzodiac.htm), not to mention the fact that the precession of the equinoxes means that the traditional time periods assigned to each astrogical sign no longer correspond to the original constellations, this is perhaps the least of the astrologers’ worries. In any case, I am not sure the concept of “error” can be applied to astrology. It’s sort of like asking if _Alice in Wonderland_ could be in error. ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d78d45/32.png) [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2006, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-no-longer-a-planet/370316/7 "2006-08-26T17:21:41Z")
“A word means just what I want it to mean.” Indeed. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2006, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-no-longer-a-planet/370316/8 "2006-08-26T17:57:39Z")
Yes is true, the astronomers made it official: Pluto **is** a Mickey Mouse planet. Not be taken as seriously as the 8 remaining ones, but even as a dwarf planet it still deserves more attention than Astrology should ever get. ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2006, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-no-longer-a-planet/370316/9 "2006-08-26T18:36:09Z")
Every few years this topic rears its ugly head, causing massive consternation for scientists and astrologers worldwide. Trust me, we haven’t heard the end of this yet, and we won’t for a very long time. So it’s obvious, there is only one way to put this debate to rest… WE MUST DESTROY PLUTO!!! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2006, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-no-longer-a-planet/370316/10 "2006-08-26T20:03:04Z")
Some cartoons on the subject: [http://www.msnbc.com/comics/comics/td060826.gif](http://www.msnbc.com/comics/comics/td060826.gif) [http://www.cagle.com/news/Pluto/main.asp](http://www.cagle.com/news/Pluto/main.asp) ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2006, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-no-longer-a-planet/370316/11 "2006-08-26T20:11:34Z")
This doesn’t bode well. (yes, I’m going to keep using that joke) ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2006, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-no-longer-a-planet/370316/12 "2006-08-26T21:24:58Z")
[QUOTE=ralph124c] Or are all the existant horoscopes in error? 😕 [/QUOTE] Yes. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2006, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-no-longer-a-planet/370316/13 "2006-08-27T04:40:29Z")
[QUOTE=ralph124c] Or are all the existant horoscopes in error? 😕 [/QUOTE] When was this ever _not_ the case? ---
**Author:** ![Mbossa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@Mbossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mbossa)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2006, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-no-longer-a-planet/370316/14 "2006-08-27T05:13:27Z")
Hmmm…maybe it was the _inclusion_ of the pseudo-planet Pluto that was making horoscopes so vague and meaningless. Maybe if we drop Pluto from our calculations, the horoscopes will suddenly start providing genuine, useful advice. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2006, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-no-longer-a-planet/370316/15 "2006-08-27T05:22:45Z")
I read horoscopes for advice. Granted, it doesn’t take a wizard to tell me, “Today you should work harder rather than goof off on the internet,” but it doesn’t hurt to get a second opinion so I try another sign. Yeah, “Stop and smell the roses today,” sounds like a good idea, so I end up a Virgo for the day. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2006, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-no-longer-a-planet/370316/16 "2006-08-27T05:34:48Z")
It’s not as if anything has really changed. “Planet” Was always a somewhat arbitrary term. Pluto is no more or less important than it was a week ago- all that’s changed is what we call it. To use an analogy, we learned in geography class years ago that there are 7 continents: Europe, Asia, Africa, Australi, North America, South America, and Antarctica. But in other countries, North and South America aren’t regarded as separate continents at all- to them, there’s just one continent called “America.” But couldn’t we just regard Europe, Asia and Africa as just ONE really big continent (Eurafricasia?)? Or couldn’t we decide that Australia and Antarctica rea really just big islands, rather than continents? Or that Greenland is actually a very small continent? Bottom line: it’s not really worth worrying about!