Our solar system has been downsized today from nine planets to eight. The Associated Press writes: “Leading astronomers declared Thursday [August 24, 2006] that Pluto is no longer a planet under historic new guidelines that downsize the solar system from nine planets to eight. After a tumultuous week of clashing over the essence of the cosmos, the International Astronomical Union stripped Pluto of the planetary status it has held since its discovery in 1930 [by American scientist Clyde Tombaugh].”

[via Kottke]