The Mighty Lord of the Kuiper

As noted here at Universe Today Pluto lost her planetary status in 2006. She was demoted to Dwarf Planet (for the first time I understand why they demoted her and must, reluctantly agree with it...its a really good article by Fraser Cain)

But in short an object was found in the Kuiper Belt that were larger than Pluto, spherical in shape and with more mass. This questioned Pluto's place, either it was the 9th of 10 planets or not one at all. As more objects, close to her size were discovered, astronomers voted, in 2006 to set 3 criteria to be a planet:

"It had to orbit the sun
It had gravity enough to shape it into a sphere
It must also be able "clear the neighborhood" which meant there could not be debris floating around it."

Pluto failed on the third count and was dubbed, officially, a Dwarf Planet, along with several of her neighbors.

Of course one wonders if Pluto has yet to clear her are, perhaps the Kuiper it still struggling with the collisions that settled our part of the solar system long ago, and Pluto is one of many...Eris being another...who Lord it over the Kuiper. Perhaps in a billion years or thereabouts she will have cleared a path through the belt, gained mass and grown into the 10th planet.

Though Dwarf Planet probably fits the astronomy community, it does only partial justice in my mind. That mighty dwarf rules a vast stretch of sky, upon the edge of light, a Lord of the Kuiper.

The space craft New Horizon (not the Event Horizon). was sent there to study it, it should be there in 2005 and give us the first ever close up pictures of the might Lord of the Kuiper.