In 1930, astronomer Clyde Tombaugh discovered a faint point of light orbiting the sun beyond Neptune. The new world “Pluto” was considered the ninth planet for 76 years, but in 2006 the International Astronomical Union voted to reclassify Pluto as a “dwarf planet.” What prompted this change in nomenclature?

The Rise and Fall of the Ninth Planet

The planet Jupiter is a wonderful example of the creativity of the Lord. It is remarkably different from the worlds we have examined previously in this Impact series. Jupiter does not possess a solid surface but is an enormous spheroid of gas—eleven times the diameter of Earth—held together by its own gravity. The gas pressure increases with depth, eventually becoming liquid.