Pluto was recently demoted and is no longer considered a planet. Do you agree or disagree with this decision?

It is simply a matter of classification. The asteroid Ceres was considered to be a planet at one time, but is not now.

The reason for the re-classification is that we found a lot of objects that are very similar to Pluto, some of which are larger than Pluto. Also, these objects are NOT like the other outer planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune) but are like each other. So we had the choice of having literally hundreds of planets or re-classifying Pluto and all of these other objects into a new category. Remember that a similar thing happened with Ceres and the asteroids before.

So, Pluto is still out there orbiting just like it always was. It is just not considered to be a Planet. Technically, it is a Dwarf planet (again, like Ceres) and also a member of the Kuiper belt (like all those other objects). It is still interesting.

I agree with the decision. It is either demote Pluto or add in another ten planets as more objects in the Kulpier Belt are discovered.

Pluto has always been the odd ball in the Solar System. It is the only "planet" that crosses the path of another planet. The gravitational center of the Pluto-moon system does not lie within Pluto like every other planet-moon system in the solar system. Also, Pluto as planet kind of goes against the theory of how the solar system is created. The theory always has that the shock from the formation fo the Sun blew all the light elements further out and that is why the inner planet are solid while the outer planets are all gas giants. With recent discoveris, scientist simply felt that Pluto is more closely related to the Kulpier Belt than the other planets.

I disagree. The planet (albeit weirdly) does orbit around the sun---away from all other major bodies (for the exception of Neptune every once in a while). You can say the same thing for other dwarf planets within the Ort Cloud--and even perhaps a coments in the Ort Cloud or even some larger objects (like Ceres) in the Asteroid belt.

However...these asteroids and planetesmals (sp) share the same (or about the same) orbit with other planetoids, asteroids, comets, etc. Now we have to spend MORE time and MORE money to catelogue EVERY STINKING object in deep orbit around the Sun---including other bodies that orbit within the Ort cloud (or just a hair outside the Cloud) in eccentric orbits. (like Xena, etc). It's just ridiculous, if you ask me.

Not a conspiracy theorist in any way---but I do know big business well enough that most book publishers are licking their chops knowing that they will get paid big bucks to have to reprint millions of new books to show this new information.

The way things were before the conference was just fine they way it was.

It is an arbitrary decision. Does it matter if Pluto is labeled a planet or not (unless you are in 5th grade and are asked how many planets are in the solar system)? It doesn't dissappear if we label it as a planetoid instead. Astronomers have defined a planet as something of X size or mass, if Pluto doesn't fit the bill, then it is not a planet. They will still go on studying and learning about it though.

It was demoted to micro-planet because they have found several bodies orbiting the sun near pluto that are all relative in size. If I'm not mistaken Pluto's moons were demoted to micro plantes also.

Lisilau is correct. Pluto is the size of a moon, and eventually will be one. Yet, I don't think they should've demoted it yet. The scientists should be worrying about how to get there, before they demote it.. How do they know what's on there? They've never stepped on it...

Pluto had it coming for years! Banish it i say! What am i ging to tell the children? Tell them it had it coming!! It is the size of California and there are bigger orbiting the sun recently discovered that are not classed as planets. There are even bigger chunks of rock in th asteroid belt. So it has now been officially voted that a planet must have a clear orbit with no collisions, now i think THAT is mad, what they saying? Earth was not a planet when it was colliding with asteroids? So this now has been down graded to a dwarf planet and the chunk of rock in the belt is now also classed as a dwarf planet!!!! Madness!

The guy who fought to have it banished was fighting for his right. He discovered one of the "now dwarf planets" only to be told he had not found a new planet, even though it had moons orbitting. So he thought if mine aint a palnet, neither is Pluto! Good on him, it had it coming!!

It was demoted because they found a larger object further away from Pluto, Pluto has an eccentric orbit that crosses Neptune's orbital path, meaning that eventually Neptune may capture it and make it a moon

agree, they demoted it because nearby they found objects resembling pluto, after long study and research they found that they were the same! so now we only have 8 planets. sad isnt it

Totally disagree. It should be re-instated. OK Pluto is small but it has a moon and has a big time effect on Neptune's orbit. Pluto's demotion is a sleight on Clyde William Tombaugh who discovered it.