Could this little girl's sweet letter lead to Pluto's re-classification as a planet?
Houston, Texas - Pluto may soon be a planet again, thanks to the viral letter from a 10-year-old Texan. NASA is now looking into reclassifying the former planet.
Saying no to a little kid's heartfelt wish isn't easy, not even for NASA Director Jared Isaacman (43).
Thursday, NASA administrator Isaacman, himself the father of two daughters, responded to a touching letter from a young astronomer.
"Dear NASA, please make Pluto a planet again," wrote 10-year-old Kaela in red marker.
"Kaela – We are looking into this," Isaacman replied to the letter posted by Mike's Weather Page on X, an account specializing in weather information.
Kaela's letter went viral! The kiddo listed several reasons why Pluto should regain its planetary status, which was revoked in 2006.
But the sweetest reason was the third: "It might make a lot of people happy."
What is Pluto's current classification?
In her letter, Kaela proved that she knows what she's talking about.
The young scientist noted that Pluto is in the Kuiper Belt and was discovered in 1930 by US astronomer Clyde Tombaugh (1906-1997).
When it was discovered, Pluto was considered the outermost planet in our solar system.
But as more objects of a similar size were discovered in the Kuiper Belt, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) decided to redefine the term "planet."
These days, for an object to be classified as a planet, it must orbit around the sun, have sufficient mass for self-gravity, and be the dominant object in its own orbit.
"Pluto does not meet this criteria, and it is therefore not a planet. Pluto is instead a dwarf planet," according to the IAU website.
Let's see if Kaela's letter gets NASA to finally reclassify Pluto!
Cover photo: Bildmontage: X/@tropicalupdate, Nasa/Epa/dpa, Terry Renna/AP/dpa

