I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I’m not concerned with Pluto’s feelings. If it’s too small, has an irregular orbit, hasn’t cleared its immediate vicinity, etc., then fine, it doesn’t meet the objective standards by which we’re going to define planets going forward, that’s totally acceptable.
But saying that a dwarf planet isn’t a planet is just bad etymology. It’s got the word planet right in there, but it’s not a planet? That’s super confusing for the casual user.
Planetoid, on the other hand, had been in common use for literally decades, and it makes perfectly good etymological sense. Asteroid = star-like, because if you’re not careful you might mistake it for a star. Planetoid = planet-like, for the same reason.
I don’t want justice for Pluto, I want justice for linguistic clarity!
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I’m not concerned with Pluto’s feelings. If it’s too small, has an irregular orbit, hasn’t cleared its immediate vicinity, etc., then fine, it doesn’t meet the objective standards by which we’re going to define planets going forward, that’s totally acceptable.
But saying that a dwarf planet isn’t a planet is just bad etymology. It’s got the word planet right in there, but it’s not a planet? That’s super confusing for the casual user.
Planetoid, on the other hand, had been in common use for literally decades, and it makes perfectly good etymological sense. Asteroid = star-like, because if you’re not careful you might mistake it for a star. Planetoid = planet-like, for the same reason.
I don’t want justice for Pluto, I want justice for linguistic clarity!
Should be something like PeniPlanet/PaenPlanet = “Almost a planet”, Like Peninsula/Paeninsula = “Almost an island”