Pluto now has a family of its own, after astronomers have struggled for years to give it a place among its celestial brethren.
The International Astronomical Union announced June 11 that it has accepted the name plutoid to distinguish all dwarf planets lying beyond Neptune. Last summer, the members of the IAU Committee on Small Body Nomenclature, or CSBN, proposed classifying these objects under the new title, which the IAU Executive Committee approved at its recent May meeting held in Oslo, Norway.
“We wanted a rather clear name that related to Pluto,” says astronomer Brian G. Marsden, secretary of the CSBN. “Plutoid fit the bill. And I am happy enough with it. It means Pluto-like.”