The debate over Pluto's planethood has resurfaced and some prominent scientists have some things to say about it. I'm Jade Kim and this is your space pod for Thursday, May 17, 2018. We all remember what we were doing the day Pluto got demoted and kicked out of the Solar Systems Planet Club. This happened after it was reclassified from planet to dwarf planet in 2006, when the IAU decided it did not meet the criteria to be considered a planet. Well, recently, New Horizons' principal investigator, Dr. Alan Stern, an astrobiologist David Grinspoon, recently declared in a Huffington Post article that Pluto's reclassification was indeed a mistake. What they are specifically referring to are the three rules that the IAU decided up that planets must follow, including having to orbit the Sun, being round due to sufficient self-gravity, and to have been able to clear its orbit. And this, my friends, is where Pluto fell short. Pluto actually orbits in a region of the outer solar system called the Kuiper Belt, where it's surrounded by millions of other objects. The quote-unquote demotion had caused an uproar among scientists and the public alike, and these sentiments only intensified after some of the epic data the New Horizons mission has started sending back. You see, for the first time, we're actually able to see exactly how active and complex Pluto really is, from its gigantic icy mountains to its flowing glaciers of nitrogen and so much more. Stern and Grinspoon called IAU's decision flawed and referenced a presentation given at the annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference entitled A Geophysical Planet Definition. This defines that a planet can be more of a planet based on its intrinsic physical properties over its external orbital properties. If this definition of planet relied more on its physical features versus its orbital ones, then Pluto would definitely have a better chance of being welcomed back into the planet family. As of now, no one really knows if Pluto will ever be reinstated into the mainstream solar system in the planets, but I will say one thing. Don't feel bad for Pluto. You see, Pluto went from being the runt of the planets to being the king of the dwarfs. Basically, like going from a tiny fish in a huge ocean to being the big fish in a tiny pond. But no matter how we classify this icy body, we can all agree that nothing will ever change from how captivating this complex world is turning out to be. So be sure to check out the live show where we spoke with Tim Allis of Relativity Space, an amazing interview you don't want to miss. Also, don't forget to like and subscribe, and you can see our shows as we go live every Saturday at 1800 Universal Time. If you'd like to support tomorrow, go ahead and head over to patreon.com slash TMRO. Thank you for watching, and as always, stay curious, my friends. .