Space/Science — HabitableZone

Space/Science » in reply to Official - "Planets are Round"

Do we have to "obey" the IAU?
LJK — (archived)

Just how binding is the IAU decision on astronomers, both professional and
amateur?

Does it have to be taken any more seriously than, say, the UN Outer Space
Treaties are?

People are already buying up lunar property. Just wait until corporations start
landing there to mine the regolith and see how quickly and easily their lawyers
circumvent that dated bunch of rules.

As for an example right here on Earth, the Antarctic Treaty is frequently
violated and ignored by the numerous countries which claim various sections of
the southernmost continent, which they have sliced up like a pie. There are even
ongoing disputes over who owns certain parts of Antarctica.

In their efforts to keep Pluto an "official" planet, the IAU has made the issue even
more complicated for future generations. We still know so little about "Xena" and
you know there are even bigger worlds out there just waiting to be found and
argued over.

And what about all those objects orbiting other stars?

They should have gone with planetoids.

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