Planet Pluto is no more – let us shed a tear for its demise. Here is the full story, though relevant quotes follow:
Astronomers meeting in the Czech capital have voted to strip Pluto of its status as a planet. About 2,500 experts were in Prague for the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) general assembly. The scientists rejected a proposal that would have retained Pluto as a planet and brought three other objects into the cosmic club.
Pluto will now join a new class of “dwarf planets,. along with UB313 (informally named Xena, though it is unlikely to keep this title when it is formally named by the IAU) and the former asteroid Ceres.
On a personal note, I have not felt as betrayed as this since the powers that be decided there was no such thing as a dinosaur called the Brontosaurus.
For a funny photo contest about Pluto’s demise, go here.
A Far Country 