Public Radio East serves Eastern North Carolina by providing news, fine arts, and informational programming that challenges, stimulates, educates, and entertains an intellectually curious audience.

© 2026 Public Radio East

Public Radio East
800 College Court
New Bern, NC 28562

EIN 56-1802728
Public Radio For Eastern North Carolina 89.3 WTEB New Bern 88.5 WZNB New Bern 91.5 WBJD Atlantic Beach 90.3 WKNS Kinston 89.9 W210CF Greenville
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Join our team! Public Radio East is hiring a Financial & Development Associate.

Is Pluto Too Puny to Be a Planet?

It's the talk of the International Astronomical Union meeting, now underway in Prague. Astronomers are grappling over whether its small status should cause it to be declassifed as a planet.

Indeed, it's smaller than earth's moon and there are other objects past Neptune that are comparable in size to Pluto.

On the other hand, there are valid arguments to call Pluto a planet. It has an atmosphere, it goes through seasons, and it has three moons.

And what would happen to the mnemonic device for remembering planet names? You know: "My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas."

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

As special correspondent and guest host of NPR's news programs, Melissa Block brings her signature combination of warmth and incisive reporting. Her work over the decades has earned her journalism's highest honors, and has made her one of NPR's most familiar and beloved voices.