And this just in from the space watching community: Pluto might be experiencing a really bad 21st Century, as the dwarf planet may not actually be even the largest dwarf planet as was originally presumed. Eris, a large rocky body within the Kuiper Belt, was found to be 100 kilometers wider in diameter, but was assumed to be less dense than Pluto.

Michael Brown, the original discoverer of Eris, along with Emily Schaller, both from the California Institute of Technology, also discovered that Eris is 16.6 billion trillion kilograms. Their estimate was derived from an observation of the body's satellite orbit through the Hubble Space Telescope and Keck Observatory.

Just last year, Pluto was demoted to what the International Astronomical Union called a dwarf planet, which in their eyes can't qualify as a true planet. People who've had a soft side for the former ninth celestial body of our solar system took this news for disappointment. And this new development may dampen their spirits even more.

But Frank Bertoldi of the University of Bonn in Germany believes that not everyone was fazed by the IAU's decision. "The schoolkids still like Pluto whether it's a minor planet, a dwarf planet, or a planet. Pluto is Pluto, and it will stay out there no matter what we call it," he said.

Bertoldi is sure that Eris will not be able to hold it's current crown as the largest dwarf planet in our solar system. There are other portions of the Kuiper Belt that haven't been explored, according to Bertoldi, and it's possible a larger one is hidden within its mysterious ring.

When Bill Nye the Science Guy explains it on ABC News, it's a whole lot clearer than having the IAU issue a communique. Why CAN'T Pluto be a planet? Well, simply because - and this isn't Bill talking, but our one-sentence summary of him - Pluto is essentially a glorified comet.

Well, it's not a comet because it's too big to be classified as one, but as Bill points out, it is smaller than 1,500 kilometers, and is mostly made of ice. So, if it were orbiting in Mercury's path, instead of where it is on the fringes of our solar system, pretty soon it would become an even smaller piece of rock that once was Pluto's inner core. This is like saying you cannot call the surface of a frozen lake "real estate" to build a house on because when the summer comes, you can kiss that house goodbye.

"I mean, is that worthy [to be called a] planet, a planet that just evaporates? Pffshht! For crying out loud!"

From Bill's point of view, however, there is a bright side to Pluto losing planethood, as it shows how dynamic and changing the world of science could be. Learn someting new, something really new and really big, and it literally rocks your scientific world to the core, even of an ice dwarf like Pluto. Click Play on the YouTube clip below to hear and see ol'd Bill yourself.

The dwarf planet we so fondly call "Xena" now has an official name. Yes, some of you Xena fans might be reacting violently now, but the new and agreed upon name isn't so bad: 136199 Eris, (Eris for short) named after the goddess of discord and chaos. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) agreed last September 13 on the name of this dwarf planet, which is now the second (Pluto was the first) in a newly proposed subcategory of planets.

Let's now take a moment to describe Eris' history:

• Greek goddess of discord and strife
• stirs up jealousy and envy among men
• At the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, Eris got spiteful that she wasn't invited, and hence started a quarrel among the goddesses that eventually led to the Trojan war

Now, Eris' moon (which was jokingly called "Gabrielle" by the Xena fans) also now has an official name of Dysnomia, who, in Greek myth, is the daughter of Eris and the demon-spirit of lawlessness. These names were proposed by Mike Brown on behalf of the rest of his team, who discovered the said heavenly bodies back in October 2003.

Recently, one of our staff writers urged a "grassroots" movement to save Pluto, which was recently stripped of its planetary status.  For those of you who agree that Pluto should remain a planet, here's some good news.

It seems as if the the astronomical  community is not about to let Pluto go down without a fight. 300 researchers recently signed a statement denouncing the IAU's recent definition demoting the ninth rock from the sun. A conference is planned next year where they hope to come up with an alternative definition of "planet." Alan Stern, who heads the New Horizons Mission to Pluto at NASA is helping to organize the conference.

"Teachers are writing me saying, 'We don't know how to teach this,'" Stern says. "We've got to help them out of this jam that the IAU has put them in," says Stern.

Another organizer, Owen Gingerich of Harvard University, believes Pluto's planet label could stick despite the IAU decision if most textbook authors choose to use it. "If the conference is broadly enough representative with the key players, then it may well be that it establishes a different nomenclature than what has been officially voted on by the IAU," he told New Scientist. "It might achieve a more satisfactory consensus," Gingerich says.

The date August 24, 2006 will go down in history as "the day Pluto lost its planethood." After the IAU kicked Pluto (currently Pluton) out of the cosmic club of planets, there have been a lot of disappointed Pluto fans (including myself). Online, there have been numerous movements surging to revive Pluto back into its orbit as the ninth planet.

Already, there have been people selling merchandise online that serves this very purpose. Some $25 shirts that simply state "PLUTO IS A PLANET," mugs, pin-on buttons, and other memorabilia are available online, so that people worldwide can buy them and make a statement. Some have even proclaimed to "Stop Planetary Discrimination."

All of us here have grown up with the knowledge of our solar system having nine planets. Now it's down to eight. If I might opine my personal thoughts, I was rather disheartened that the IAU demoted Pluto. My foundations of the solar system has been obsolete all this time. However, I guess this feeling is not uncommon. After all, some people are conservative, some others are open to big changes (planetary changes, at that). I do understand that the IAU has more right to declare what's a planet or what's not. But the whole "Save Pluto" movement does sound appealing.

We all have our own thoughts on this issue. I just gave mine. Now, what's yours? You know the drill: comment, comment, comment!

For many people it was inevitable, but we still didn't think it would have happened...now it has. 2,500 astronomers who met in Prague for the International Astronomical Union's (IAU) general assembly have demoted Pluto's planet status. Who would have thought that in your science lessons that in the future our solar system would have less planets?

Rather than vote that our solar system contained 12 planets (including the discovery of 2003 UB313 by Professor Mike Brown), the IAU voted that Pluto should be demoted and that our solar system contains 8 planets. "The eight planets are Mercury, Earth, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune," said the IAU resolution, which was passed following a week of intense debate.

Pluto has been considered a planet since its discovery in 1930 by the American Clyde Tombaugh, but now it appears that Pluto will have to be ripped out from school textbooks after the IAU resolution. In remembrance of the planet Pluto, here are a few facts that BBC News put together:

• Named after the underworld god
• Average Sun distance: 5.9bn km
• Orbits Sun every 248 years
• Has at least three moons
• Rotates every 6.8 days
• Gravity about 6% of Earth's
• Surface temperature -233C
• NASA probe visits in 2015

The ongoing debate as to what exactly constitutes a "planet" has aroused some ire among astronomers at the meeting of the International Astronomical Union in Prague. The planet definition committee offered three new definitions in an attempt to mollify the scientists that had rejected the first proposal. However, most of the scientists in attendance rejected these as well.

The latest proposal continues to define planets as round objects that orbit the Sun, but adds the following: "In our solar system, we distinguish between the eight 'classical' planets as the dominant objects in their local population zones, and 'dwarf' planets, which are not." This is an attempt to find common ground with the astronomers who had come up their own definition last week.

"They have presented practically the same resolution as before," says Julio Fernandez of the University of the Republic in Montevideo, Uruguay. Fernandez was one of the authors of last week's  proposal.  He added, "Most of the people here think it makes no sense."

It seems like hair-splitting. Everyone agrees that objects in Solar orbit fall into one of three categories: – the big planets from Mercury to Neptune; a number of "dwarf" planets (i.e. Pluto, Ceres, et.al.); and asteroids.  What subject of just what constitutes a "dwarf planet" seem to be the problem. Fernandez says they aren't planets at all, while the Committee says they are.  It's a small thing until you have to answer the question of exactly how many "official" planets actually orbit the Sun. 

A lunchtime meeting turned hostile when Fernandez tried to read his alternative definition.  He was cut off by Ron Ekers, the IAU president.  "I think it was disgraceful treatment," says Brian Marsden, formerly head of the Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts. As more questions were prevented, one astronomer cried out: "If there is democracy, listen to the questions. Let the people speak!" More of the scientists became angered when a  member of planet committee, MIT's Richard Binzel, said: "You can vote based on physics, or maybe you have some preconceived idea of what a planet should be."

Irish astronomer Mike Bailey said "With the present state of knowledge, it's impossible to draw the line between dwarf planets and asteroids." A final resolution declaring that a planetary companion can be a full-fledged planet  if its center of gravity of the system is out in space was rejected by most of those in attendance. That resolution would have made Charon a planet, leaving other planetary companions as moons.

Now there is an attempt to reconcile the warring parties' views in preparation of a vote on the subject coming up this Thursday.

You may have heard of the hype about Pluto becoming a "pluton" together with its moon. Then there's the proposed 12-planet set-up for our solar system. Now, some astronomers are considering the moon a planet, along with 53 other planet candidates.

According to the new definition of planet proposed by the International Astronomical Union, any round object orbiting the sun is a planet, unless it already has a planet of its own to orbit around. However, there's this thing called the barycenter, which is the center of all gravity. If the barycenter is "outside the larger object, then the smaller object is a planet." That's the reason why Pluto's moon Charon is being considered a planet by some astronomers.

But back to the barycenter. At the moment, the system's barycenter is the earth. But in a couple of a few billion years, the barycenter will "move outside the Earth as the Moon recedes." That this, if the Earth or Moon still exists.

Whether our moon, Pluto, or various asteroids will be considered as planets will be discussed soon as authorities will vote on the new definition of planet on the 24th at the IAU meeting in Prague.

For 76 years, the line-up for our solar system has shown us nine planets. Is it now time to render this structure obsolete and increase the number to twelve? The International Astronomical Union (IAU) is to make that very decision come August 24 of this year. While space buffs out there are all gaggling with glee like kids on sugar about this 12-planet proposal, people who make a living out of the 76-year-old, nine-planet structure are ready to take the blow, at whatever cost.

Publishers, planetariums, and schools will have to make revisions to their textbooks, models, and visuals, and these changes will surely be expensive! Planetary mobiles and some science fair projects in classrooms all around the world will now be considered horribly wrong!

Well, despite all these initial concerns, sources say that astronomers, teachers, and students alike will actually be more than excited about making the modifications to their "obsolete" nine-planet structures. Now, all these excitement have spilled over to the toy-makers, as the race to produce the toy-counterparts of the three new members of our solar system - Ceres, Charon, and Xena (still nicknames) - is on the move. Currently, the Discovery Channel Store already predicts that the 12-planet toysets may be out come Christmas!

Well, at the rate things are going, I guess it really is more exciting than it is a hassle that the IAU might approve the 12-planet proposal. I mean, c'mon! Imagine yourself as a kid who just got home from school, and calling out to your mom, "I'll be in my room! Don't bother me until dinner! I'm building a new planet!!!" Besides, I still believe that Xena (Warrior Princess) is one heck of a good name for a planet - especially if Gabrielle, the loyal side-kick, is orbiting around it as a moon.