Instead, it has become part of a new group of astronomical objects known as Dwarf Planets.

I think they prefer the term "Vertically-challenged Planets."

©1984-2006 Toaraga EAM

In some ways, I see it as a shame that our icy friend is no longer considered a planet, but this is purely sentimental, and I believe that the scientists made the right decision based on their evidence. Moreover, it doesn't affect me, as I'm never going there. Or, at least, to the best of my knowledge I'm not. Perhaps I should be cyrogenically preserved once I die, be flown to Pluto and be revived?

Is it even possible to unfreeze oneself on a planet (sorry, dwarf planet) whose frozen atmosphere coats its own surface? Although, I suppose Pluto's terraforming will have finished by the time you awaken, eh?

Anyway, I have a feeling this ruling will not last long. Judging by what I read, there seem to be a lot of astronomers angry about the ruling:

Stern, in charge of the robotic probe on its way to Pluto, said the language of the resolution is flawed. It requires that a planet "has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit." But Earth, Mars, Jupiter and Neptune all have asteroids as neighbors.

 

"It's patently clear that Earth's zone is not cleared," Stern told Space.com. "Jupiter has 50,000 Trojan asteroids," which orbit in lockstep with the planet.

 

Stern called it "absurd" that only 424 astronomers were allowed to vote, out of about 10,000 professional astronomers around the globe.

 

"It won't stand," he said. "It's a farce."

 

Stern said astronomers are already circulating a petition that would try to overturn the IAU decision.

 

Owen Gingerich, historian and astronomer emeritus at Harvard who led the committee that proposed the initial definition, called the new definition "confusing and unfortunate" and said he was "not at all pleased" with the language about clearing the neighborhood.

 

Gingerich also did not like the term "dwarf" planet.

 

"I thought that it made a curious linguistic contradiction," Gingerich said during a telephone interview from Boston (where he could not vote). "A dwarf planet is not a planet. I thought that was very awkward."

 

Gingerich added: "In the future, one would hope the IAU could do electronic balloting."

I could be wrong, but I'd put my money on the possibilty of this whole "Dwarf Planet" business going up in smoke.