CV and mad panic behaviour

[kruddler]

Who in the hell are "they"?  There's hundreds of well known scientists ahead in the queue of the IAU that refuse to accept an arbitrary decision.  Angers me ... total crap

The bonsai tree is still a tree

A new class of objects and how to define a planet
The IAU has been responsible for the naming and nomenclature of planetary bodies and their satellites since the early 1900s. As Professor Ron Ekers, past president of the IAU, explains:

Such decisions and recommendations are not enforceable by any national or international law; rather they establish conventions that are meant to help our understanding of astronomical objects and processes. Hence, IAU recommendations should rest on well-established scientific facts and have a broad consensus in the community concerned.(read the full article on page 16 of the IAU GA Newspaper)

The IAU decided to create a committee to gather opinions from a broad range of scientific interests, with input from professional astronomers, planetary scientists, historians, science publishers, writers and educators. Thus the Planet Definition Committee of the IAU Executive Committee was formed and quickly went about preparing a draft resolution to put to the members of the IAU. After the final meeting in Paris the draft resolution was completed. One crucial aspect of the resolution is described by Professor Owen Gingerich, Chair of the IAU Planet Definition Committee: "On the scientific side, we wanted to avoid arbitrary cut-offs simply based on distances, periods, magnitudes, or neighbouring objects". (read more in the IAU GA Newspaper, starting on page 16 of the PDF)

Well someone has to come up with standards that set the groundwork. These guys have been doing it for over 100 years, so why not?!