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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2009
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Pluto Is Still a Planet, Illinois Senate Declares

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(Newser) – Having helped install a hometown boy in the White House and ousted its colorful governor, Illinois is next out to save Pluto, the Guardian reports. The state senate blasted the International Astronomical Union’s 2006 decision to demote the erstwhile ninth planet to a “dwarf planet,” and voted unanimously to return to “full planetary status” the orb first sighted in 1930 by a native son, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch adds.

The senate said Pluto was “unfairly downgraded” and declared next Friday “Pluto Day” as a nod to astronomer Clyde Tombaugh, the Streator, Ill., man credited with its discovery.

Pluto was downgraded to a dwarf planet in 2006, because it didn't meet the requirement that a planet clear the area around it of debris due to its gravity.
Pluto was downgraded to a dwarf planet in 2006, because it didn't meet the requirement that a planet clear the area around it of debris due to its gravity.   (Shutter Stock)
The Illinois Senate, by a unanimous vote, has returned
The Illinois Senate, by a unanimous vote, has returned "full planetary status" to Pluto, first spotted by a native son.   (AP Photo)
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Whatever your views on Pluto's rightful status, it's heartening to see that the fate of that small rock, and so the size of the solar system, is still up in the air. - Ian Sample, Guardian

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11 comments
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EddyTeach
Mar 6, 09 1:07 PM CST
Nice to see Illinios' priorities are in order. Reply
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Chilblain
Mar 8, 09 2:46 PM CDT
Ha!
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MackTheHack
Mar 6, 09 1:08 PM CST
So our senate really has nothing better to do than legislate this crap? What will they do next, prove the existence of god once and for all? Reply
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AClotfelter
Mar 6, 09 1:21 PM CST
While I did not agree with the decision to re-classify Pluto as a dwarf planet. I do not believe that it should be the government should attempt to over ride the decisions of the scientific community. This is a serious problem that was made extremely worse in the Bush years. Elected officials have no business determining the legitimacy of scientific decisions based on emotional responses. Reply
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IN RESPONSE:
pplgoncrazi
Mar 6, 09 10:38 PM CST
nice grammer skills,"I do not believe that it should be the government should attempt to over ride the decisions of the scientific community."
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