It was back to Pluto this week at the Visible Universe (the column):
Poor, sad, spit-upon Pluto. Once a planet, now a ... what?
Scientists and writers toyed with "transneptunian dwarf planet," "ice dwarf" and "planetoid." Detractors dubbed it a "lump of rock" (not accurate, really, since Pluto may have nitrogen ice on its surface, as well as a thin atmosphere). Now, the International Astronomical Union, the body that stripped Pluto of its planetary mantle, has officially given it a new one: plutoid.
A special note to old friends: There's some Huntington Woods lore in this one, too! Read the whole column at the Boulder Daily Camera.
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