Definition of "pluton" in Danger - IMPORTANT!

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Definition of "pluton" in danger
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From: Allen Glazner afglazne@email.unc.edu
Greetings,
Members of the volcanology community should be aware that the International Astronomical Union (IAU), meeting now in Prague, is proposing a new term for Pluto-like planetary objects --"pluton". This seems like a remarkably bad idea, given how important and well-established the word is in Earth science and that planetology and geology are closely related sciences. Unless we want students coming into our classes thinking that plutons are transneptunian objects , we need to convince the astronomers to come up with a different word.I am writing to encourage you to contact members of the IAU and ask them to change this. Officers of the IAU are listed at

http://www.iau2006.org/mirror/www.iau.org/Officers.60.0.html

http://www.iau2006.org/mirror/www.iau.org/Vice-Presidents.59.0.html

http://www.iau2006.org/mirror/www.iau.org/Advisers.58.0.html

Final vote on the contentious issue of whether Pluto should be called a planet is scheduled for this Thursday, August 24, so time is short. Please take a moment to let your feelings be known--we need to educate planetologists about their home planet.

Thanks,Allen Glazner

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Prof. Allen F. Glazner
Dept. of Geological Sciences, CB# 3315
University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3315
919-962-0689,
fax 919-966-4519
http://www.geosci.unc.edu/faculty/glazner/glazner.html

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