pds.jpl.nasa.gov
A bereft, forlorn blogosphere made "Pluto" the number-one search on Technorati today as it struggled to come to terms with our lonely, chilly neighbor's abrupt ejection from the planetary club. "Poor Pluto," said KY at Catch My Shooting Star; Maggie at MySpace was "horrified" to learn the news: "I felt like somehow the scientific community had robbed me of a piece of my universe," she lamented on her page, calling for readers to "pause for a moment of silence." (According to her MySpace page, Maggie is also a Virgo, so need not fear the astrological consequences which may yet be visited upon Scorpios, ruled by Pluto as they traditionally have been.) Said Mikey129 at LiveJournal: "Good bye Pluto... You will always be remembered... you will be missed."
Ian Musgrave of Astroblog points out who's really getting hurt here: the children, and the planetariums, and the family of Clyde Tombaugh, who discovered Pluto in 1930. They say they are "saddened" by the change, but that "he would understand." Oh Clyde, we're so sorry.
Some have tried to be coldly clinical about Pluto — and failed. Said Walt at Ars Mathematica: "I know it doesn't really matter, but I felt very strongly that Pluto should be demoted from being a planet. Now that it's actually happened I feel sad that it's happened. That means I've had two more emotions about Pluto than I ever expected to have." Well Walt, it's a little late for that — the damage is done. Can I suggest a third emotion: Guilt, you Pluto-hating fiend! Sorry. That was uncalled for. I know this is hard for you, too.
Word on the street is that Neptune's status is being deliberated as well. We just hope they stay away from Uranus.
