Pluto gets new name

[pledm]

Pluto gets a new name: plutoid


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Pluto, demoted from planet status in 2006, got a consolation prize on Wednesday -- it and other dwarf planets like it will be called plutoids.

The International Astronomical Union said in a statement that its executive committee meeting in Oslo, Norway, decided on the term.

Plutoids will be defined as celestial bodies in orbit around the Sun farther away than Neptune. They must have near-spherical shape, and must not have swept up other, smaller objects in their orbits, said the organization, which names newly discovered planets and other celestial bodies.

The two known and named plutoids are Pluto and Eris, but astronomers expect to find more.

Another dwarf planet, Ceres, does not merit the plutoid designation because it is in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.



This is a pic from the Hubble space telescope of Pluto and its satellite Charon,,just amazing.

I`m really feeling for Pluto,I say keep the name,leave the little guy alone,to me he`s/she`s a planet. ;D

[Summer]

It's true that we are constantly learning more and more about space, so I think that we will see a lof of other changes too throughout the years. I don't mind that Pluto is a plutoid.