PlutOwned

Scientifically, there really is no question [that Pluto should be reclassified]. Either Pluto is not a planet, or many other things are planets. Which is a better choice? I want my planets to be more special, not less special, so I favor Pluto not being a planet. Emotionally, though, I have to admit that I have grown up thinking Pluto [is] this special oddball planet at the edge of the solar system. While I now know scientifically that Pluto is less special, it’s still hard to let go.”

—California Institute of Technology astronomer Michael Brown, 2004

The scientific community really has it out for Pluto, doesn’t it? Delisted from the planetary rolls last year after a wholesale redefinition of planethood determined it was actually the largest of the dwarf planets, Pluto suffered another humiliation yesterday when astronomers announced that Eris, Pluto’s recently discovered neighbor, outweighs it by about 27%. “There was a possibility that Pluto and Eris were roughly the same size, but these new results show that it’s second place at best for Pluto,” said Caltech astronomer Brown. “I don’t think we’re picking on Pluto. … It’s just the truth. It [Eris] just is more massive than Pluto. It’s just the way it is.”