Pluto was demoted to a dwarf planet by the world's astronomical community 12 years ago, not everyone was content to go along with the ruling. On April 24, 2006 the International Astronomical Union laid down three conditions for planethood.
#1: A planet has to orbit the sun.
#2: A Planet has to be big enough to be round( a large enough body will have been rounded off by its own gravity).
#3: A planet has to have enough gravitational pull to dominate the area around its orbit.
Poor Pluto was doing just fine until rule #3. Since Neptune's gravity influences Pluto, and Pluto shares its orbit with objects in the Kuiper belt, that meant Pluto was out. Hence its new dwarf planet status.
But here in New Mexico, Pluto still retains its former planethood, at least according to state law. According to legislation drafted by the house of representatives in 2007, “As Pluto passes overhead through New Mexico’s excellent night skies, it be declared a planet and that March 13, 2007 be declared ‘Pluto Planet Day’ at the legislature.”
The reason why New Mexicans feel so strongly about Pluto, is that it was discovered here 75 years ago. Pluto's discoverer, Clyde Tombaugh, is a native New Mexican and was an astronomy professor at New Mexico State University for 20 years.
It seems that New Mexicans may not be completely crazy, as many scientist are saying that the criteria by which Pluto lost its status are not valid. New research from the University of Central Florida in Orlando challenges the notion that Pluto's gravitation must dominate its orbit, reporting that this standard is not supported in the research literature. Referring to Rule #3 as a false historical claim, the researchers think that the definition of a planet should be based on intrinsic properties,instead of variabilities like orbital dynamics. We may soon see Pluto back in the planetary fold, and not just in the Land of Enchantment.
