Pluto takes another hit

Not only is Pluto no longer a planet, it is apparently not the most massive Kuiper Belt body either. New research this week out of Caltech concludes that Eris, the Kuiper Belt object that resulted in Pluto's demotion from planet status last year, is not only slightly larger than Pluto but also about 27% more massive. This finding does not detract from Pluto's importance in the solar system (see one of my posts from last year) but it does firm up the framework of our new classification of solar system bodies. Eight planets and eight planets only.