Pluto: Planet or Something Else?

When I was a child in the fifties I knew “Pluto” was different. What made it different then was its orbit. Even though it was recognized as the ninth planet, I was aware that some points of its orbit were closer to our Sun than the closest points of Neptune the eighth planet‘s, orbit. The explanation offered for this phenomenon at the time was that Pluto was a runaway moon of Neptune.There were limits to what could be observed back then. Electronic (called "radio" then) telescopes were just beginning to be constructed. Astronomers’ observations were restricted by the size of the mirrors on their telescopes and visual interference from our own atmosphere. We knew Pluto had a lot of ice from spectrum analysis. What we didn’t know was that it was smaller in diameter than the planet Mercury or our own Moon.Our ability through the use of the Hubble Telescope helping to determine the true size and makeup of Pluto along with the discovery of four other celestial objects further from the Sun have caused some scientists to question whether Pluto should continue to be called a planet. The group of these celestial objects of which scientists claim Pluto is part of is called the Kuiper Belt. One of the objects, “2003 UB313” nicknamed “Xena”, is about 25 % larger than Pluto. Should it officially be made a 10th planet?3000 scientists and astronomers are meeting in Prague, Czechoslovakia tomorrow for 12 days to decide if Pluto will continue to be called a planet or to possibly determine if a new classification system of what is a planet is necessary.