OK, April Fool’s Day is over. Some pretty clever pranks bounced around the Net yesterday, including a rumor that Admiral Adama of Battlestar Galactica fame is being considered for the post of NASA administrator.
And then there was the one about the International Astronomical Union (IAU) and Pluto. This tidbit apparently originated on the internal computer system of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory:
"Based on new observational evidence of more objects of significant size in the outer solar system, Pluto will no longer be described as a dwarf planet," said David Perel, chair of the IAU's Committee on Designations. "We will be meeting to consider a permanent name for the category of objects that Pluto falls under. In the meantime, we are describing it with the working label of 'FLR' (Fairly Large Rock)."
But my personal favorite prank appeared late in the day on the irreverent and occasionally foul-mouthed “Dynamics of Cats” blog by astrophysicist Steinn Sigurðsson. Check out Sigurðsson’s blog on the naked-eye supernova spotted in Sagittarius and the impending apocalypse.