This Day in History, 2006: Pluto Demoted

[mabfan]

Exactly one year ago today, the International Astronomical Union, at their General Assembly in Prague, voted to demote Pluto from planet to dwarf planet.

(An excellent post about the public's reaction since can be found at The Enduring Power of Pluto.)

Comments

[introverte.livejournal.com]

My six year old knows all about the controversy. Last week, he went to a camp that focused on astronomy, and one day after camp he made up a protest sign (with creative spelling) that read: Pluto Ought to be a Planet.

His four year old sister doesn't have quite as sophisticated a grasp, but she does know that Pluto is a "little planet" and that some people disagree on what it should be called.