PLANET OVERBOARD!

It's cold out there in outer space. And last month it just got a little colder. Pluto, our beloved ninth planet, has been given the astronomical boot and demoted to the status of "dwarf planet." Come to find out recently that there are three main conditions for an object to be called a "planet", according to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), passed August 24, 2006.

1. The object must be in orbit around the Sun.
2. The object must be massive enough that it takes on a nearly round shape.
3. It must dominate its orbit around the Sun.

Pluto fails to meet the third condition. That's right, the IAU didn't mince words when they stated that Pluto will now be considered a dwarf planet. I know that this has really affected some people. In fact, people like astronomer Alan Stern, in regards to the definition of "planet" said, "The definition stinks." And there is even a "Save Pluto Movement" going on out there. Textbooks and toys must be updated and mnemonic devices reworked so that they make complete sentences.

Michael Shara, curator of the American Museum of Natural History in New York reported, "We had enormous numbers of telephone calls and I would say things that verged on hate mail from second-graders - very angry children who said, 'What have you done? This is the cutest, most Disney-esque of the planets. How could you possibly demote it?'"

Yes, our solar system is now down to eight planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. In 1930, while the US was suffering the horrible effects of the Great Depression, Pluto was busy celebrating its new found status as "Planet of the Year," and boasting to next door neighbor, and as yet undiscovered dwarf planet, "2003 EL61." But, the years took their toll and Pluto grew complacent. Although scientists have urged Pluto for years to take dominion of its orbit much more seriously, Pluto's apparent lack of motivation coupled with our solar system's reputation for being "planetarily hard to break into," has found Pluto once again in the dark.

Clyde Tombaugh was the man who discovered Pluto. Though he is no longer living, his widow, Patricia, says the discoverer, like any good scientist, would have accepted the demotion as inevitable.

"Clyde would have said, 'Science is a progressive thing and if you're going to be a scientist and put your neck out, you're apt to have it bitten upon'," the 94-year-old said from her home in New Mexico. She adds a small amount of her husband's ashes are now on a spacecraft bound for Pluto.

I haven't even begun to enumerate all of the implications of this dramatic move by the IAU, however, I would like to leave you with this deep thought by J. Handy.

"I don't think I'm alone when I say I'd like to see more and more planets fall under the ruthless domination of our solar system."