New Mexico and Illinois Have It Right About Pluto

The legislatures of New Mexico and Illinois seem to have much more sense than a certain 424 IAU members who voted in Prague on August 24, 2006. New Mexico, for the third year in a row, passed a resolution honoring February 18, the anniversary of the day Pluto was discovered, as Planet Pluto Day in their state. And Illinois, thanks largely to lobbying by Pluto supporter and Streator native Siobhan Elias, adopted a resolution recognizing March 13, the anniversary of the day Pluto's discovery was announced to the world, as Pluto Day in Illinois, honoring Clyde Tombaugh. Both states openly defied the IAU decree and declared Pluto to be a full-fledged planet, at least when it is over their skies. Here is the text of both resolutions: 1) New Mexico .177166.1HOUSE MEMORIAL 4049TH LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - FIRST SESSION, 2009 INTRODUCED BYJoni Marie GutierrezA MEMORIALPROCLAIMING FEBRUARY 18, 2009 AS "PLUTO IS A PLANET IN NEWMEXICO DAY" AT THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND HONORING THESEVENTY-NINTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DISCOVERY OF PLUTO BY CLYDETOMBAUGH.WHEREAS, Dr. Clyde Tombaugh is best known for discoveringthe planet Pluto in 1930, but he also discovered and named atotal of fourteen asteroids; andWHEREAS, Dr. Tombaugh ...