Coronado, P. et al
In an embarrassing revelation from the past, world renowned Astronomer Professor Banjo Zirkowitz was barred from the Royal Astronomical Society when a resurfaced video from 2005 showed him clearly stating that Pluto is one of nine planets in our solar system.
The broader scientific community is in an uproar and took to social media #FireProfJerkowitz.
“Pluto is ~clearly~ a dwarf planet,” read one viral tweet from user SpaceM@tters69, who continued “we must hold Prof. Zirkowitz accountable and show the world that there are consequences when someone with his influence in the academic community shares such blatant misinformation. #FireProfJerkowitz,” read another tweet.
Another user cast doubt on the whole of Prof. Zirkowitz’s astronomical knowledge. “So a gold medal winning astronomer claimed there are nine planets in our solar system. Makes me question his long-held belief about the color of Mars. Is it really red? #FireProfJerkowitz”
The backlash forced the hand of the Royal Astronomical Society, who in an uncharacteristic display of solidarity, unanimously voted to boot Professor Zirkowitz from their organization and strip him of his gold medal.
“We hope this sends a clear message to all astronomers that you must be omniscient, today, of our discoveries decades from now. As such, I would consider the implications of writing any papers about extraterrestrial life or black-body radiation.”
When reached for comment, Prof. Zirkowitz appeared to deflect the blame on his predecessors, “Come on! Even Einstein got it wrong with his ‘Stationary Universe’ theory, and nobody is proposing that his Nobel Prize be revoked.”
