Pluto Loses It's Age Long Identity

In a vote passed by hundreds of members of the International Astronomical Union on Thursday, Pluto has lost its age long identity of being the ninth planet of the Solar System. The planet now attains the status of a dwarf planet and stands disqualified from the category of planets.

Two other recent discoveries, the ‘Ceres’ -- located between Mars and Jupiter -- and the `Xena’ (temporarily named) join the league of dwarf planets.

In the 76 year old lineup of the Solar System, Pluto, the smallest of the all was discovered in 1930. With the new guidelines and definitions coming up after the 26th general assembly meeting of the International Astronomical Union on Thursday, Pluto got the boot because it didn't meet the new rules.

According to the new rules for a celestial body to be a planet, it must not only orbit the sun but at the same time be large enough to assume a nearly round shape. Having a diameter of about 2,300 kilometers and orbiting round the sun, Pluto easily qualified on these bases.

However, Pluto's oblong orbit passed through the Kuiper Belt and overlapped Neptune's orbit. Pluto thus was disqualified on the rule stating that a planet “must clear the neighborhood around its orbit.” The composition of Pluto is also stated to be of icy objects found in the Kuiper belt and is unlike a planetary composition.

The historic change which has generated a lot of interest has exited lot of people. At the same time it has its own set of critics. Alan Stern, the top scientist for a NASA mission underway to Pluto, and a planetary scientist at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio said, ``It is stupid. I can't think of a better scientific word for it than `stupid.' "

The omission of Pluto leaves the solar system with eight "classical planets" -- Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. This is bound to require, among other things, alterations to planetariums and teaching aids around the world. What it has however done is that it has ended years of public wrangling over the status of Pluto.