The Fate of a Lonely "Planet?"

Who knows what the future will hold - personally, I like the idea of adding a 10th rather than reducing to 8 - it shows that we are still growing and have much more to learn about our own backyard. Perhaps its the liberal view to hope for a better future rather than protect the status quo...I wonder if this applies to anything else?

A new "scientific and simple" proposal to define the word "planet" will be released Wednesday and astronomers will vote on it next week. It is not clear whether the definition will settle a long-running debate on the status of Pluto, however.

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) will propose wording to delineate planets from other small objects at its 12-day General Assembly meeting in Prague. The meeting opened today and the proposal will be released to IAU member and to the public Wednesday.