How many scientists think Pluto is a dwarf planet?

Answer 1

At their 2006 conference, the IAU re-categorised Pluto as a Dwarf Planet, a category that also included Ceres - the largest member of the Asteroid Belt - and Eris - an object larger than Pluto some distance further out. This year they added Makemake and Haumae, bringing the group up to 5. But the question is; Are these objects actually planets? Well, here's my view on the matter. I present workshops for schools on astronomy and space exploration, and I point out that a few years ago I met the actor Kenny Baker. I tell the pupils that they have probably all seen films that feature Kenny, but they probably haven't seen Kenny himself, because he is usually inside the outfit of R2-D2! Yes, Kenny is one of the main stars of the Star Wars films. Now Kenny is only 3' 8" tall, and so he might be referred to as a dwarf, but what is important is that he is still a human being. He isn't a hippo; he isn't a broccoli; he isn't a hooglyflip. He's a human. So, if a dwarf human is still a human, then surely a dwarf planet is still a planet - it's just a small one. So if we add the 5 dwarf planets to the 8 others, that gives us a total of 13 planets in the solar system. When we had 9, there was a nice mnemonic to remember the sequence, which went; "My Very Educated Mother Just Served Up Nine Planets". For the current list, I have come up with this; "My Very Excellent Mother Creates Jelly Surprise Using Nice Pink Hot Munchy Eggs!" It may not make a lot of sense, but it's a fun way to remember all of our planets.

Answer 2

Because up until August 24, 2006 Pluto was considered a planet by definition.