Pluto is still a planet, dwarf planets are still planets just smaller.
this post was submitted on 26 Mar 2026
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In Illinois, we passed a law acknowledging Pluto as a planet because we are the most open and accepting state.
My objection to "dwarf planet" is purely a linguistically aesthetic one.
"Dwarf planet" ≠ planet
...implies...
"Dwarf person" ≠ person
...and I feel like the people under 4'10" (147 cm) would object to that distinction.
Also, "planetoid" was a perfectly cromulent word which Star Trek had been using for decades already.
Different meanings. "Dwarf person" = a person with dwarfism, but "dwarf planet" ≠ a planet with dwarfism.
There are plenty of linguistically unintuitive artifacts kicking around (a peanut is neither a pea nor a nut, a jellyfish is not a fish, all of the "berries" which aren't berries), but if we're deliberately creating brand new labels in the 21st century, it might have been nice if we'd avoided that kind of oddness, given the opportunity.
It's kind of a leap to hear "dwarf planet" and think that it's denigrating people with dwarfism in any way.
It's not a direct connection, but trying to say a dwarf planet isn't a planet, when it's got the word planet right there, is generating the kind of semantic confusion that, carried forward, would lead to the conclusion that people with dwarfism aren't people. The -oid suffix already conveys "is almost the thing, but not quite," such as in words like humanoid, asteroid, android, and (most importantly) the aforementioned planetoid. Making planetoid the official word for "is in ways like a planet but actually isn't" would have been working with existing etymology, rather than creating needless confusion.
I'd certainly support not using "dwarf" in the names of celestial bodies any more, although it would make the Red Dwarf's name anachronistic.
Did you test Pluto to make sure its not just a regularplanet with dwarfism?
I can't be the only one who hates this "omg guys Pluto has to be a planet!" meme shit that won't die.
Who fucking cares? Yes, we used to call it one thing, and now we call it something else. Get over it.
Thank you. I have a kid I work with that looooves space. To him, dwarf planets and regular planets are equally interesting. When we watch space videos that point out Pluto in some way, he’s just confused. Like a video about the 8 planets ending in a frowning Pluto.
The kid: “Why is Pluto sad?”
Me: “Well, bud, some grown ups are silly. They grew up thinking of Pluto as a planet and they don’t like that its status changed.”
But to him, Pluto has no reason to be “sad.” It’s got Ceres, Makemake, Haumea, and Eris to be friends with! But nobody makes a big deal over them (if they even are aware of their existence at all. This boy has single-handedly educated many of my coworkers about them.)
Point is, grown ups - let it go! Scientific reclassification doesn’t mean Pluto was ejected from the solar system or something. It’s still there and it’s still loved. It just plays with different friends now.
At least Pluto is rock solid, looking at you Jupiter and Saturn. Ya'll wish you half the silicate mass!
Uranus is full of farts!
Jupiter's got diamond bones, baby.
Sure, but they're fuzzy, at least the "core" is.
I'm only down with the "Pluto is a planet" crowd, if they rep Ceres and at least one of the others (Eris, Hamuhea, Makemake, or one of the others I forget) too.
So there's no version of the solar system where there's only 9 planets. It's 11+ lads.
Yeah, people don't realise that removing Pluto is the conservative choice when it comes to the list of planets.
It was the only choice if we are expecting elementary students to memorize them all in order.
I'd be happy with:
Pluto = planet
Anything smaller than Pluto ≠ planet
Nine planets. Now with clear non-stupid rules.
Eros na gonya be on dis list no more, pampaw
Eros Venus now, sasa?
If Sol has a ring now, is it married?
The more the merrier
They say "Pluto's not a planet,"
Do you think that Pluto gives a shit?
Pluto is not gonna quit
'Cause Pluto can take a hit
And Pluto knows what Pluto is
And Pluto knows that Pluto's
I think I’m seeing shit I’ve seen a perfect protostar I’ve seen a triple quasar But I’ve never seen a dwarf planet go this hard!
Pluto ain't gonna quit, impact craters level out after a while, and that mofo has more geologically interesting shit going on than most people realize.