For months, the universe of political corruption has revolved around Illinois politicians, so it seems astronomically fitting that state lawmakers have taken up the fight to re-establish Pluto as a full-blown planet.
You see, Pluto was discovered in 1930 by an Illinoisan, Clyde Tombaugh of Streator. But in August 2006, the International Astronomical Union reclassified Pluto as a mere dwarf planet, offending Pluto fans worldwide and particularly those in Tombaugh’s home state.
Enter stargazing state Sen. Gary Dahl (R-Granville), sponsor of Senate Resolution 46, which implores the scientific community to re-embrace Pluto and declares next Friday as Pluto Day. (Mark your calendars!)
The resolution claims that Tombaugh is the “only American to ever discover a planet,” which would be true were it not so wildly false. For one, Geoffrey Marcy at the University of California at Berkeley — an American — has discovered at least 70 planets. The list goes on.
Inaccuracies aside, the resolution passed last week, presumably while senators were taking a break from steering the state away from an economic black hole.
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rhuppke@tribune.com
