Deseret News archives: Rueing the day they deemed Pluto a ‘dwarf’ planet

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Deseret News archives: Rueing the day they deemed Pluto a ‘dwarf’ planet
Chris Miller
Deseret News
Sun, August 24, 2025 at 11:00 AM EDT
2 min read



NASA's New Horizons spacecraft captured this high-resolution enhanced color view of Pluto on July 14, 2015. The image combines blue, red and infrared images taken by the Ralph/Multispectral Visual Imaging Camera (MVIC). | NASA/Johns Hopkins University


Editor’s note: This story was originally published on Aug. 24, 2024.

A look back at local, national and world events through Deseret News archives.

On Aug. 24, 2006, the International Astronomical Union declared that Pluto was no longer a full-fledged planet, demoting it to the status of a “dwarf planet.”

And people the world over who probably had not thought much about the solar system’s tiniest planet protested. The decision was felt most by the family of Clyde Tombaugh, who spotted the planet in 1930 while on lookout at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Pluto, which is in fact smaller than Earth’s moon, was quickly heralded as the ninth planet in the solar system when it was spotted Feb. 18, 1930, by Tombaugh, a young amateur astronomer stationed at Lowell Observatory.

With a diameter of 1,440 miles, Pluto is farthest from the sun. While major planets make roughly circular orbits, Pluto carves out a “sweeping ellipse.” Some wanted to call it a minor planet, others a trans-Neptunian object. Others felt it had been snubbed because it was discovered by an American amateur.

In January 2006, NASA sent its New Horizons spacecraft on humanity’s first journey to Pluto. Seven months later, it was demoted to dwarf planet.

Onboard the New Horizons craft was a small vial of Tombaugh’s ashes, per his wish.

Flagstaff of course still lays claim to Tombaugh, Lowell Laboratory and its connection to Pluto, planet or not.



A black piece of tape covers Pluto in the planet exhibit at the Clark Planetarium in Salt Lake City on August 24, 2006. | Laura Seitz

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/deseret-news-archives-rueing-day-155200231.html

[Geo]

That wasn't an article.

Merely a memorial...