Pluto (pronounced /ˈpluːtoʊ/ (help·info),[8] from Latin: Plūto), formal designation (134340) Pluto, is the second-largest known dwarf planet in the Solar System (after Eris) and the tenth-largest body observed directly orbiting the Sun. Originally classified as a planet, Pluto is now considered the largest member of a distinct population called the Kuiper belt.[9]
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Many astronomers and lay people still view Pluto as a planet and believe the IAU definition should be amended to include dwarf planets as a subclass of planets. The current definition precludes this, which is one of several reasons it doesn't make any sense. Significantly, the demotion of Pluto was done by only four percent of the IAU, most of whom are not planetary scientists. Their decision was immediately opposed by hundreds of professional astronomers in a formal petition led by Dr. Alan Stern, Principal Investigator of NASA's New Horizons mission to Pluto. You can find that petition here: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/planetprotest/
This debate is far from over. If we count dwarf planets as a subclass of planets, our solar system has 13 planets and counting: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Ceres, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Haumea, Makemake, and Eris.
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