The International Astronomical Union has spoken and set in stone - until the next debate, at least - the composition of Earth's neighbourhood. But while this may have seemed to have been an argument about whether Pluto is or is not a planet, in reality it has been one of far greater gravitas - the questioning of science itself.
In our fast-changing world, there can be no better lesson for those among us who are reluctant to review and amend our beliefs and practices.
For the majority of us, the thought that Pluto is not what schools have been teaching since its discovery 86 years ago seems quaint. Astrologers and others in the business of star gazing and fortune telling see it much more seriously. To some others, so much fuss about a small rock so far away is absurd. A small number among us, disinterested in what lies beyond the atmosphere or perhaps just poor students or too young to understand, may wonder why a harmless Disney dog is making headlines.
Whatever our feelings, though, in the back of most minds is the sense that familiarity has been tampered with. Like a badly food-stained favourite shirt or well-worn, but comfortable, slippers, Pluto was not something to be so willingly discarded. This was a case of an old friend being in hospital and potentially at death's door.
Scientists are not so emotional. They are forever making discoveries that make previous findings obsolete. No scientific branch is as ever-changing as astronomy, where each new glance at a telescope or gathering of satellite data alters charts. What was in the heavens last night will be added tomorrow. Such change is exciting rather than distressing for astronomers. They know that with each new finding, they are a step - albeit a miniscule one in all but a few rare cases - closer to understanding the universe.
More broadly, though, Pluto has proven a paradigm shift for science. This is a phrase much used but little understood by the general populace - although for the scientific community, it has great meaning. First used by American science philosopher Thomas Kuhn 44 years ago, the term describes a dramatic shift in basic assumptions within scientific theory. In science there are frequently anomalies against a paradigm and when enough accrue, a crisis occurs in the discipline affected. New ideas are floated, debate flourishes and truth is reassessed and if necessary, changed.
