Pluto Gets the Booto

It's official--astronomers have declared that Pluto is no longer a planet:

Much-maligned Pluto doesn't make the grade under the new rules for a planet: "a celestial body that is in orbit around the sun, has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a ... nearly round shape, and has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit."

"Cleared the neighborhood around its orbit"? What that means, in the case of Pluto, is that Pluto's orbit overlaps Neptune's. Of course, under the new planet definition, after a hefty meal, I could be considered a planet.

Still, astronomers say that Pluto aficionadoes should look on the bright side:

"It could be argued that we are creating an umbrella called 'planet' under which the dwarf planets exist," ...said [Jocelyn Bell Burnell -- a specialist in neutron stars from Northern Ireland who oversaw the proceedings], drawing laughter by waving a stuffed Pluto of Walt Disney fame beneath a real umbrella.

O-o-o-oka-a-a-a-ay-y-y-y...