Today is Pluto Day, at least if you live in the US state of Illinois, where lawmakers have also decreed that Pluto is a planet, in contravention of the International Astronomical Union 2006 ruling declaring it be classified a dwarf planet, as it is “too small” to be a full-sized planet.
Clyde Tombaugh who discovered Pluto in 1930, happens to hail from Illinois, which goes someway in explaining the recent actions of the Illinois senators.
A February 26 resolution adopted by the state senate honors the Streator,Ill.-born astronomer who discovered Pluto in 1930 by declaring March 13, 2009, “Pluto Day” in the State of Illinois. The resolution states Dr. Clyde Tombaugh first noticed Pluto when he worked at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Ariz. It also says Pluto was “unfairly downgraded” when the International Astronomical Union voted to demote it.
Update: Pluto, together with Eris, are in fact classed as Plutoids not dwarf planets.
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