Number of Planets Reduced to Eight

Astronomers from around the world met in Prague, Czech Republic to discuss the status of Pluto as a planet. On August 24 2006, they voted to strip Pluto of its status as a planet. Pluto has been classified as a planet since 1930 when it was discovered. Now it is classified as a dwarf planet. Under new definitions, a planet is: "a celestial body that is in orbit around the sun, has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a ... nearly round shape, and has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit."

Pluto