It was announced today that Pluto's newly discovered second and third moons have names. Quite good names, if I may say so, myself; Nix and Hydra, respectively. Considered individually, these two little guys amount to virtually nothing in the context of the Universe. And naturally, put together, they still amount to nothing. Yet, they have names. Curious, no? Despite being little more than proverbial "specks of dust," the International Astronomical Union has decided that they are worthy of lofty and godly monickers.
The idea of naming insignificant specks is not new. I mean, I have a name, you have a name; as far as I know, every person, place, and thing on Earth has a name and as an astronomer, I can assure you, not a single item on our planet is at all significant on a cosmic scale. Nix and Hydra have one up on all of us simply by virtue of the fact that they're bigger. And more power to them! It's tough to make a name for yourself on Earth, but even tougher if you're just one of several hundred billion rocks in space. So kudos to you, O newest moons of the solar system.
The announcement was, of course, quite a recent one, so I have no idea what popular opinion will be with regards to these proceedings. However, I suspect you'd have to be quite the misanthropic pessimist to not approve of humanity's formal recognition of these little guys. But I really don't doubt that such individuals do exist. After all, let us consider the plight our dear Pluto is currently undergoing. Astronomers all over the world have entered a grand debate, almost on the scale of Galileo vs. the Church, as to whether or not Pluto is really a planet. The arguments on both sides are convincing and indeed, the jury is still out. Pluto's enemies have said that really, it belongs to a group of celestial objects living in the Kuiper belt. This is a shell around the solar system where lots of little rocks and ice balls live. These poor devils never made it in to the warmer, inner sanctum of the solar system where "true planets" were formed. To be fair, Pluto really is a Kuiper belt object of sorts. Furthermore, there are tons of these things out there, so in reality, there is nothing inherently special about Pluto.
Or is there? No. Probably not. Just that we've known it existed since it was discovered by Clyde Tombaugh in 1930. Shortly thereafter, it was dubbed "planet," and children have been memorizing its name and order from the sun since. This is the stuff Pluto fans use as evidence in its favor. I am proud to place myself in this camp. You see, there really isn't a scientific definition of the term "planet." It's kind of just used to refer to large things that orbit a star. How large? I dunno. Hence the issue. Pluto is small. Pluto is not like any of the other planets. Pluto is only a planet because some dude decided to say that it was. But as one scientist put it, to demote Pluto would simply be rude. I agree.
I like to think that by naming Nix and Hydra, the IAU is on my side. They've been under a lot of pressure since the discovery of the so-called "tenth planet," 2003 UB313. Where there was debate about Pluto's Kuiper belt object status, there is fact about UB313's status as such. No one is claiming it's anything other than a pretty large rock floating in that particularly remote zone of the solar system. However, the fact that it is large has proven to be a source of alarm. Indeed, it is larger than Pluto by a considerable amount. This simple fact has just added more wood to the fire of the Planet Pluto Debate. Although, I suppose these two are now in it together, so we better call it the Ninth and Tenth Planet (?) Debate.
I've already laden this discussion with my own opinions, so I will now conclude it with a couple more. I want this new guy to be called a planet, too. I see nothing wrong with there being 10 planets, and I have no issues with the fact that it lives in the Kuiper belt. Even if this means we need to arbitrarily define planet as being "anything the size of pluto or greater that orbits a star," I'm for it. Of course, I'm not a member of the IAU, so I don't really have a say, and I suspect they'll come up with a substantially less flippant definition, but if it includes Pluto and the new guy, I'll be a happy camper. If not, I'll deal, some kids will cry (as they have when they discovered Pluto's absence from the list of planets on display at the Rose Center for Earth and Space in New York), and life will go on. Ob-la-di, ob-la-da. But rather than end on a defeatist note, please allow me to offer one final point. For as long as I've known about them, I've considered the planets to be my friends. These wandering gods up in the sky are among the coolest things we can ever hope to lay eyes on, and, for me at least, they've always been a source of comfort. I find it really nice to know that there are these gorgeous worlds floating out there, winking to us in the night. They've been a source of inspiration to the likes of Holst, van Gogh, Shakespeare, and Frost, and will go on to trigger creative impulses from countless artists in the future. And after all, as the old adage goes, the more the merrier. A tenth night time buddy? Awesome. It makes me smile. So, welcome, Nix and Hydra. May you and your near neighbors be fondly embraced by humanity from now through eternity.