Pluto 9 T-shirt

It was August 24th 2006 when 424 out of 10,000+ members of The International Astronomical Union (IAU) decided they would take their long week and bad moods out on Pluto and downgrade it to a “dwarf planet”. After all, all the other scientists headed home during the last day of the 10 day conference. How dare Pluto not clear the neighborhood around its orbit? Sorry Pluto, you no longer get to play in the sandbox with the big wigs.

The choice was clear. Declare several of the newly discovered Trans-Neptunian Objects, some larger than Pluto, planets or downgrade Pluto to a dwarf planet. The underwhelming and unconvincing vote details are available for your viewing pleasure on the IAU’s website.

While the vote does not speak of the term “Dwarf Planet”, definitions (.pdf) were established to define “planet”, “dwarf planet” and “small solar system bodies”.

IAU’s resoning can be read in their “Pluto and the Developing Landscape of Our Solar System“.

Honestly, I can see where they are coming from. As more celestial bodies are discovered, they need to be categorized. Please don’t tell me my grade school teacher lied to me though. Certainly, 100s of textbooks are not wrong. Pluto was discovered on February 18, 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh. Being a large, roundish shaped object in the sky that orbited the sun, Pluto was declared our 9th planet. That is how I will always define Pluto.

The State of Illinois agrees with me. On March 13, 2009, another group of self-important people took back Pluto’s planet status. I stand with The Ninety-sixth General Assembly of the Sate of Illinois on Senate Resolution SR0046 (.pdf)

If you want to do more to save the planet (Pluto that is) visit SavePluto.com. Even if Pluto does not fit the new definition of “Planet,” I believe it should be grandfathered in to prevent traumatization to generations raised on the fact that we have 9 planets.