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Pluto and Scorpios
August 25, 2006

Who says Americans--students or otherwise--hate science? The mainstream media seems to assume an inordinate interest in astronomy, at least, based on the amount of coverage of the controversy over the planetary (or lack thereof) status of Pluto. The New York Times in an editorial felt compelled today to congratulate the members of the International Astronomical Union who "came to their senses…and approved a new definition of the word 'planet' that would drop tiny Pluto from the club and relegate it instead to a lesser realm of 'dwarf planets.'"

Today's editorial caps nearly two dozen items the paper has posted on the subject, and other media outlets, such as CNN.com, have been similarly generous in their coverage.

Not all of the interest in the topic, however, seems to be strictly scientific. Astrologers, reports the Wall Street Journal, are very concerned about Pluto's demotion. The demotion could be particularly troublesome for Scorpios, astrologers say, because they closely associate Pluto with the Scorpio sign. The paper quotes Milton Black, an Australian astrologer: "Scorpios can be extremely explosive...and this could be the trigger that makes them explode."

And that relates the Pluto story to another hot story in the news. I guess we can assume that the Transportation Safety Administration will be banning Scorpios from commercial airliners.

Posted by Rick Nelson on August 25, 2006 | Comments (0)