With the news of Pluto’s newly discovered satellite, there have been renewed cries about how Pluto is still a planet, how it got demoted, and how science needs to get things right. These outcries reminded me of an article I read in April of last year from National Public Radio’s (NPR) website. It was about how many people typically cling to the things they learned about science as children and accepted as truth. Pluto, the Brontosaurus, and the Triceratops are just a few of the topics that have melted peoples brains when science does a 180.
The first thing to remember about all things scientific is the phrase, “Subject to Change.” What we know and understand is always based on our best observations, information, and research. As mankind progresses, so does our understanding of things, which can turn our best guess upside down. Fear not, science lovers! For science is still a great and wonderful thing, sure to compel “oohs” and “aahs” from crowds for millenia to come. …but never forget, science is a journey, not a destination. -Paul Lechner For further reading on NPR’s article:http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2011/04/14/135351303/the-triceratops-panic-why-does-science-keep-changing-its-mind 
An active volcanic eruption on Jupiter’s moon Io was captured in this false color image taken on February 22, 2000 by NASA’s Galileo spacecraft. White and orange areas on the left side of the picture show newly erupted hot lava. The two small bright spots are sites where molten rock is exposed to the surface at the toes of lava flows. The larger orange and yellow ribbon is a cooling lava flow that is more than more than 60 kilometers (37 miles) long. 
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