Was Pluto’s 2006 demotion a mistake?

"pluto should be a planet because it was a planet when i was a kid" is a right-wing anti science entryism talking point.

If Pluto is a planet then so are the hundreds of other Kuiper Belt objects of similar size and distance

When Pluto was named a planet, we didn’t yet know it was part of a large population of similar objects. As technology improved, new evidence changed our understanding. Scientific truths change with the evidence.

Pluto is not a planet. It doesn’t orbit the sun like the other planets. It’s tiny. Calling it a dwarf planet is fine imo.

No coincidence that it's mostly a US issue, with 'passion' building as the Trumpian war on science (and basic facts) has escalated IMHO Pluto was put into a different category because the criteria were changed, like Ceres became an asteroid when the planet box started overflowing the first time 🤷

What really annoys me is that people are always talking about whether Pluto deserves to be a planet while ignoring all the other dwarf planets. It would only be valid for Pluto to be considered a planet if the same status was granted for all the dwarf planets, and they really don't want that.

There are some things we'll never be certain about and you just have to take a position on. Pluto is a planet and I am soldier not scout on this. www.theguardian.com/science/2026...

"Forbidden planet: was Pluto’s 2006 demotion a big mistake? Since it was stripped of planetary status, Pluto’s defenders have been fighting the decision – and they’re only getting more passionate." www.theguardian.com/science/2026...

really hate that kind of thing happened because it was fun to do "Pluto is a planet in my heart!" non-seriously

the guy who killed pluto thinks he found evidence that there might be a new 9th planet that hasn't been discovered yet en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planet_...

My position is that of course Pluto is a planet because that's what I learned at school and shame on these so-called scientists for trying to steal part of my long-established, hard-won understanding of things. (See also: the legality of beginning a sentence with "And".)

I was a science-obsessed kid and most of my nerd friends were at the time as well. We all shared cool space facts with each other and marveled at new discoveries. When Pluto was reclassified as no longer a planet, I thought it was super interesting and I felt awe at being present for the moment.

Remember the object Pluto formerly known as the Planet Pluto, wasn't discovered until 1930. It didn't come into existence in 1930.

This shit is the IRL version of that Robot Chicken skit with the scientist declaring Pluto is no longer a planet, then going on a power-mad binge declaring shit like "The sky is no longer blue! Water is no longer wet!" and it ends with him declaring gravity no longer works and he jumps off a cliff

It’ll be a cold day in hell before I call a Marathon a Snickers so I’m sure you can guess my opinion here… *But* if Pluto is a planet then so is Charon, so is Ceres, so are the Kuiper Belt objects. It would get very silly 🌙💫📡🔭