Picture this... You’re watching your favorite evening game show, playing along as you always do and they ask the question “WHAT’S THE LAST PLANET IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM?”
The lead contestant confidently pushes the button to ring in and answers “PLUTO!”
As you nod your head in agreement, the sour note of the buzzer echoes and the host says, “I’m sorry, the correct answer is NEPTUNE??? Pluto is no longer a planet!”
“WHAT?” you exclaim. “THEY CAN’T TAKE AWAY A PLANET!”
But, they can... and they did.
76 year old Pluto was excluded from planethood on August 24, 2006 after the International Astronomical Union defined – for the first time ever – 3 criteria to be considered a planet. The IAU ruled that a planet must orbit the sun, must have enough mass to have assumed a nearly-round shape and must “clear the neighborhood” around its orbit. Pluto failed to meet the third condition and was demoted to dwarf planet status!
Are you truly satisfied with only 8 planets in your universe? Voice your opinion now!
