THE PLUTONIAN NEWS NETWORK

SAVE PLUTO!

CLICK HERE TO SIGN THE PETITION

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March 12 2008 (PNN) Correspondent Laurel Kornfeld was recently interviewed on New Jersey’s WNTI radio, here’s a link:

Laurel on WNTI

The recording is through the "Contours" program and occurs in the middle of the broadcast, about 17 and a half minutes in.

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PLANET PLUTO EXPO!

Tombaugh Birthplace to celebrate Planet Pluto

May 12 2007 (PNN/Pantagraph.com) Tourism officials in Streator, Illinois are planning a weekend honoring the Planet Pluto and the Streator native who discovered it. Planet Pluto Expo will be held May 18-19, featuring lectures, exhibits, an ice cream social and a park concert. Clyde Tombaugh was born in Streator in 1906. In 1930, working for the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Ariz., he discovered Pluto, the ninth planet in our solar system.

Adults are invited to hear Lowell outreach manager Kevin Schindler beginning at 6:30 p.m. May 18 at the high school auditorium. Also speaking will be Alan Stern, author, scientist and investigator for the National Aeronautical & Space Administration. Speakers also will meet with school classes in three sessions that day.

On May 19, the expo will move to the Knights of Columbus Hall on Oakley Avenue, where exhibits will be be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. They will include displays from the NASA Research Center in Cleveland, the Challenger Learning Center in Bloomington and the Lakeview Museum of Arts and Sciences in Peoria. Three bands will perform at City Park from 6 to 10 p.m. for a Bring Back Pluto Concert. There also will be a “Big Dipper” ice cream social at the Ted Weber Home and Gardens on Baker Street from 3 to 6 p.m. All events are free.

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IT’S OFFICIAL: PLUTO IS A PLANET

New Mexico Legislature Declares Pluto a Planet

March 13, 2007 (PNN) As expected, The New Mexico State Legislature passed House Joint Memorial 54, which fully recognizes Pluto’s Planetary status and proclaims that March 13, 2007, be declared “Pluto Planet Day.” Seeking to preserve the legacy of Clyde Tombaugh, the longtime New Mexican who discovered the ninth planet, the measure passed New Mexico's House of Representatives, 70-0. Among those in the gallery when the measure was passed was Patsy Tombaugh, the 94-year-old widow of Clyde, and his daughter, Annette Tombaugh-Sitze — both of Las Cruces.

"In a way, it's saying that the state is supporting the fact it should be a planet," said Patsy Tombaugh, "I think it's nice they did that." Some of Clyde Tombaugh's ashes are on board the New Horizons spacecraft, which set out for Pluto in early 2006. It's scheduled to pass by Pluto in 2015. Patsy Tombaugh talked about the movement among many astronomers to grant Pluto back its planetary status, and she says "It will always be a planet to me — no matter what they decide to do."

Tombaugh-Sitze said her father would have been pleased with the House's move. "I'm thrilled," she said. "It brings back a little of Pluto's dignity." Patsy Tombaugh said the House memorial gives recognition not only to her late husband, but also to New Mexico’s contributions to the field of astronomy. Representative Joni Marie Gutierrez (D-Mesilla), who drafted the resolution, said, "We just want the world to know that in New Mexico, we will always recognize Pluto as a planet." She also discussed the irregularities in the IAU’s voting process last August.

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NEW MEXICO TO PROCLAIM: PLUTO IS A PLANET

March 13^th To Be Declared “Planet Pluto Day”

March 8, 2007 (PNN) The State of New Mexico, longtime home of the late Clyde Tombaugh, the astronomer who discovered the planet Pluto, is preparing to officially declare that Pluto is a planet. The New Mexico State Legislature is expected to pass House Joint Memorial 54 on Tuesday, which fully recognizes Pluto’s Planetary status and proclaims that March 13, 2007, be declared “Pluto Planet Day.”

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Plutonian Receives Major NASA Appointment

Dr. Alan Stern To Lead Mission Directorate

Dr. S. Alan Stern

February 14, 2007 (SPX/PNN) Dr. S. Alan Stern, an outspoken critic of the International Astronomical Union’s fraudulent redefinition of the word “planet,” has been named NASA's Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate. In his new position, Stern will direct a wide variety of research and scientific exploration programs for Earth studies, space weather, the solar system and the universe beyond. In addition, he will manage a broad spectrum of grant-based research programs and spacecraft projects to study Earth and the universe.

Last August, when the IAU issued the ruling that attempted to strip Pluto of its planetary status, Dr. Stern called the ruling “Sloppy Science” and “Embarrassing.” In an interview with Deborah Byrd from EarthSky.org last month, Dr. Stern called the IAU’s new definition of a planet “Indefensible.”

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NEW HORIZONS PROJECT

RELEASES NEW PROMO

“Movie Trailer” look and feel a new direction for NASA

February 14, 2007 (SpaceRef.com/PNN) The New Horizons Project has released a new video, one that is a radical departure from NASA’s staid and sterile animations of the past. The video is made to look like a Movie Trailer, but instead of being a preview to an upcoming film, in this case it is a preview of New Horizon’s trip to the Planets Jupiter and Pluto, and into the Kuiper Belt.

Mike Buckley, Kerri Beisser and others at APL put this video together. The person behind the New Horizons mission is PI Alan Stern - soon to be the new Science Mission Directorate Associate Administrator at NASA Headquarters. Are videos like this a preview of things to come? Click here to see the video.

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SURVEY SAYS: KEEP PLUTO

Kids Say 'Keep Pluto the Ninth Planet!' in Discovery Channel Store Survey

September 18, 2006 (PRNewswire/PNN) The votes are in and the kids of America have spoken -- Pluto should stay the ninth planet in our solar system. The Discovery Channel Store survey, conducted August 30 through September 6, 2006, was decisive with "Planet Pluto" proponents registering their opinion by a wide 6-to-1 margin.

The unofficial survey generated more than 15,000 votes in Discovery Channel Stores and on Discoverystore.com. More than 13,000 were cast in favor of Pluto remaining in the family of nine planets, compared to less than 2,000 who voted to support the decision by the IAU.

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FRIENDS OF PLUTO PROTEST IAU DECISION

“SIZE DOESN’T MATTER”

September 2, 2006 (AP/PNN) Friends and colleagues of the late Clyde Tombaugh, the astronomer who discovered the planet Pluto, gathered on the New Mexico State University campus to protest the International Astronomical Union's recent attempt to strip Pluto of its status as a planet. About 50 students and staff members turned out Friday for the good-natured challenge. Some were wearing T-shirts and carrying signs that read "Protest for Pluto" and "Size Doesn't Matter." Tombaugh's widow, Patricia, and their son, Al Tombaugh, also participated. NMSU astronomer Bernie McNamara told the crowd that textbooks shouldn't be rewritten. "Why not? Because the debate is not over," McNamara said. McNamara argued that only about 400 of the union's thousands of members were present when the IAU’s August 24 vote to strip Pluto of its planetary status was taken. "This was not a statement by the astronomical community at large," he said, adding that a petition opposing the IAU definition of a planet is circulating among the world's planetary scientists and astronomers.

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ASTRONOMERS REJECT DEMOTION OF PLUTO

August 31, 2006 (PNN) Hundreds of Planetary Scientists and Astronomers have signed a special petition denouncing the IAU’s flawed definition of the word “Planet” and are pledging not to use it! In a press release announcing the petition, organizer Dr. Mark Sykes, director of the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona, stated: “This petition gives substantial weight to the argument that the IAU definition of planet does not meet fundamental scientific standards and should be set aside.” Dr. Sykes went on to say, “A more open process, involving a broader cross section of the community engaged in planetary studies of our own solar system and others should be undertaken.”

Press Release announcing the Petition

Petition Protesting the IAU Planet Definition

Selected Links:

Indian Planetary Society asks IAU to reconsider demotion of Pluto

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Pluto vote 'hijacked' in revolt

NASA expert blasts Pluto demotion - The Times of India

Society for the Preservation of Pluto as a Planet

They Demoted Pluto – Jimmy and the Keyz

Rayna’s Plutoisaplanet.us

PleaseSavePluto.org

MySpace

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Contact us:

SavePluto@PlutoIsAPlanet.com