Pluto’s sullied celestial reputation has been restored. In brazen defiance of the International Astronomical Union–which famously demoted Pluto to dwarf planet in 2006–the State of Illinois this week passed a resolution restoring Pluto’s planetary status.

In Illinois, anyway. Apparently, Clyde Tombaugh, who first discovered the planet, was born on a farm there.

“WHEREAS, Pluto was unfairly downgraded to a ‘dwarf’ planet in a vote in which only 4 percent of the International Astronomical Union’s 10,000 scientists participated,” the resolution reads. “And WHEREAS, Many respected astronomers believe Pluto’s full planetary status should be restored; therefore, be it RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that as Pluto passes overhead through Illinois’ night skies, that it be reestablished with full planetary status, and that March 13, 2009 be declared ‘Pluto Day’ in the State of Illinois in honor of the date its discovery was announced in 1930.”

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.”

–California Institute of Technology astronomer Michael Brown, 2004

Delisted from the pantheon of celestial bodies back in 2006 for its weaker than expected planethood, and then pronounced second best to Eris, its recently discovered neighbor, Pluto is no longer the solar system’s bastard stepchild. Yesterday, the International Astronomical Union, which struck Pluto from the planetary rolls, decreed that all “transneptunian dwarf planets similar to Pluto” will henceforth be called “Plutoids.” Pluto shares the designation with Eris, the only other … non-planet to meet the IAU’s criteria for Plutoidenism.

The IAU clearly views the new classification as an honor for the humbled Pluto, but to Plutevangelists it’s just one more insult. “It’s just some people in a smoke-filled room who dreamed it up,” Alan Stern, a former NASA space sciences chief and principal investigator on a mission to Pluto, told the Associated Press. “Plutoids or hemorrhoids, whatever they call it. This is irrelevant.”

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.”