44TH LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - FIRST SESSION, 1999

REQUESTING CONTINUED RECOGNITION BY THE INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMICAL UNION OF PLUTO'S STATUS AS A MAJOR PLANET.

WHEREAS, the planet Pluto was discovered by Clyde Tombaugh in 1930; and

WHEREAS, since the 1950s, astronomer Clyde Tombaugh made major contributions to the field of astronomy in New Mexico; and

WHEREAS, the planet Pluto was the last planet to be discovered in our solar system and is the only planet not yet visited by an Earth spacecraft; and

WHEREAS, although Pluto is somewhat like a comet in that it periodically warms and loses its atmosphere to space, it is far too large to be a comet; and

WHEREAS, Pluto is more like most planets than most asteroids in that it has an atmosphere and is orbited by its own moon, Charon; and

WHEREAS, the definition of planet is unclear and encompasses a continuum of objects that possess an enormous range in size relative to each other that orbit the sun or other stars; and

WHEREAS, two groups within the International Astronomical Union are suggesting changing Pluto's stature as a major planet to that of an asteroid or trans-neptunian object; and

WHEREAS, the American Astronomical Society's Division of Planetary Science has released a statement opposing Pluto's reclassification, noting that there is little scientific or historical justification for such an action; and

WHEREAS, New Mexicans have a special attachment to Pluto through their respect for astronomer Clyde Tombaugh;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the legislature strongly support Clyde Tombaugh's discovery and characterization of Pluto as a major planet and urge the International Astronomical Union to resist the temptation to recategorize the planet Pluto as something other than one of the nine major planets of our solar system.