PLUTO GIVEN THE PINK SLIP

Pictured: An artist's rendering of Pluto.

While disgruntled science teachers and nit-picky astronomers have been debating its status as a planet since the days when I was sporting parachute pants and a puffy Michael Jackson mesh hat from Family Dollar, Pluto was officialy given the pink slip yesterday -- kicked out of the exclusive "Planet Club" and demoted to Dwarf Planet. It's a shame to see it go, but Pluto had a good run, especially amidst the years of debate over its planetary status since being discovered in 1930. Now, the galaxy looks a little different, at least as viewed through the eyes of the International Astronomical Union meeting in Prague this week:

"In the new solar system as defined by the International Astronomical Union, meeting in Prague, there are eight planets instead of nine, at least three dwarf planets and tens of thousands of so-called smaller solar system bodies, like comets and most asteroids."

There is a potential silver lining to all of this Pluto bashing. Perhaps all this spirited debate will next focus attention on the Walt Disney character Pluto, and we'll finally find out why so many Disney characters suck.

Resources
Vote Makes It Official: Pluto Isn't What It Used To Be (NY Times)
The International Astronomical Union
Pluto gets the boot (CNN)
Pluto on Wikipedia