I'm a little sad that Pluto is officially no longer a planet. Neither is UB313--nicknamed "Xena", which is actually larger than Pluto. However, it does up the status of Ceres--formerly an asteroid--that lies between Mars and Jupiter. These heavenly bodies are now officially "dwarf planets."Whether or not this decision holds up as well as the "planet" definition, I'm not sure. The vote was done at the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in Prague. And although 424 astronomers voted, that's only less than 5% of the world's astronomers.
So now you can be the know-it-all of your nephews and nieces. Go ahead and ask 'em: What are the EIGHT planets of our Solar System? Oh, and the THREE dwarf planets?
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