Expanding Knowledge

In my lifetime, we have expanded the simplistic concept of neutrons, protons, and electrons making up the atom, to include sub-atomic particles like positrons, meson, muons, quarks, etc.

This month the astrological community will attempt to fine-tune our definitions and names for planets. Perhaps, Pluto will be demoted to a planetoid, since it is smaller than several other planet-like bodies orbiting our sun, Sol. Instead, we may have another fourteen celestial bodies added to the planets, with such entries as Ceres in the Asteroids, and Xena and its moon, Gabrielle located in the Kuiper Belt. Some arguements imply that anything with a mass larger than Pluto should be called planets. Others argue that Pluto and the other celestial bodies of the Kuiper Belt should be called something else, to which I suggest "planetoids." When I was a child, there were just 9 planets, with one that had rings. As knowledge expanded, we've found other rings around planets. The elliptical orbits of Neptune and Uranus overlap at various times and one planet is closer to the sun than the other instead of their being a static order to the planets. We have also found asteroids, comets, quasars, pulsars, novas, supernovas, nebulae, etc. Now we need to add Astronomy as another high school subject.

Since we call bodies orbiting other planets "moons," we need to rename our Moon to Luna, as in lunar lander, LEM, etc. to distinguish it from Titan and Io and whatever other moon names are being used.