For 72 years our known solar system had 9 planets, that was until the scientific community took a vote as to what constitutes a planet. Scientist debated the issue and decided a planet is a celestial body that orbits our sun and clears the area surrounding it.
Pluto, being the ninth "planet" in our outer most system is actually in, therefore, a member of the very crowded Kuiper Belt. The Kuiper Belt is where all the rubble from our solar system ended up that didn't form into planets. Since there are quite a few earth sized and bigger planetoids in this asteroid belt, they settled on Dwarf Planets. Not to be confused with additional members of our solar system.
The planetoid asteroids did not take kindly to this chain of events and formed a protest group, The Planetoid Sized Asteroid Society, they sent the scientific community this statement: We're the planet sized asteroids in the Kuiper Belt, we're not happy about your decision to call us, dwarf planets, you may as well have named us, midget planets.
From this point on we demand being referred to as "little" planets.
Pluto has broken ranks with the P.S.A.S. and has said it wants to be known as, Pluto the Midget. This has caused quite a ferver in the Kuiper Belt and many of the little planets are up in arms, Pluto has been ostracized.
So that's it, 8 planets, one, "midget," planet and a bunch of, "little," planets.
From the desk of
Buck E Filbert
08.16.07
