10-year-old girl stands up for 'Planet' Pluto in an emotional letter. NASA wrote back
Kaela had her solid reasons and facts listed openly in her letter to NASA
In 2006, Pluto was dropped as the ninth planet in the solar system. It was reclassified as a "dwarf planet" by the International Astronomical Union since it only met two of the three criteria for being considered a planet. However, 20 years later, a little girl named Kaela from Florida decided to write a letter to NASA, asking for them to make Pluto a planet again. The letter was originally shared by Mike Boylan (@mikes_weather_page) who was friends with Kaela's family. Posting on April 10, he tagged NASA in the caption, and the post took on a life of its own.
In a handwritten letter addressed to NASA, Kaela listed three reasons why Pluto should be made a planet again. The first reason was that it was once a part of the solar system and "used to be a planet." Secondly, it is a dwarf planet now, but it deserves to be an "actual planet" again. Her third reason is that NASA's decision could make a lot of people happy. She pleaded with NASA to make it happen if the decision was in their hands, and that it would make her and her friends really happy. Kaela added five interesting facts about the planet to show them she knew what she was talking about. She wrote that Pluto is a dwarf planet that is located in the Kuiper Belt and has five moons. It was discovered in 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh and has a size that's smaller than the Earth's moon.
After the letter went viral, news outlets and reporters tried to contact Mike Boylan and 10-year-old Kaela. In an interview with LiveNOW from FOX, Kaela revealed that her desire for Pluto to be called an actual planet again stemmed from a video she watched at a planetarium. When she wrote the letter, she did not even think that it would get sent, let alone go viral and be noticed by NASA. Jared Isaacman, NASA Administrator, reached back to Kaela's request on X, writing, "Kaela—We are looking into this."
Andy Mac of LiveNOW from FOX asked if there were any more updates from NASA, but Boylan said they have not contacted him, but people are talking about Pluto again and having discussions online. He mentioned that one person even suggested one of Pluto's moons should be named after Kaela. As for Kaela, in case NASA agrees to her request, she wants to celebrate the win with free ice cream.
According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), Pluto was reclassified as a 'dwarf planet' because it was located in the Trans-Neptunian region, which is beyond Neptune. They explained that other objects might "cross Pluto's orbital path." As Kaela mentioned, Pluto is smaller than the Earth's moon, and it measures only 1,400 miles wide, with an average temperature of -387°F (-232°C) because it is 3.6 billion miles away from the Sun.
This is not the first time a little girl has shown interest in Pluto. Back in 1930, 11-year-old Venetia Burney from Oxford, England, suggested the name 'Pluto' to her grandfather after the discovery was made. It was inspired by the Roman god of the underworld. After he forwarded the name to the Lowell Observatory, 'Pluto' was chosen as the planet's name.
The post has over has hundreds of comments with people making lighthearted jokes about Pluto, and a few others asking other celestial bodies be considered planets if this was the case. @thestarshipgarage commented, "Listen, I’m all for this as long as all dwarf planets get this same treatment. If Eris, Sedna, Ceres, Haumea, and MakeMake don’t also become promoted to planets, we can’t just give Pluto preferential treatment." @connor_bybee_art added, "One of Pluto's moons is almost as big as Pluto itself. So are we getting like 12 new planets?"
You can follow Kind Joe (@thekindjoe) on Instagram for more news updates.
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