Astronomers Neil deGrasse Tyson and Mark Sykes recently debated what it takes for a solar object to be classified as a planet, but failed to reach a consensus. Maybe it could be be put to a popular vote, based on an observation made by Tyson: He added that Americans are much more attached to Pluto than people elsewhere. "If you go to Europe and talk about Pluto they look at ... Read full entry

Don't how I missed this, but apparently the Solar System's outermost "member", Pluto, together with co-dwarf planet Eris, have now been deemed "plutoids" rather than planets. I know Pluto lost its status as a fully-fledged planet sometime ago, but it seems I'm not the only one miffed by the new plutoid designation... Last week, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) designated Pluto and its cousin Eris as "plutoids". "It sounds ... Read full entry