# Pluto Pluto is the dwarf planet whose 2006 demotion from full planetary status sparked a lasting online fandom, protest sites, and the verb 'plutoed.' The 2015 New Horizons flyby revived it as an internet-wide sympathy meme when close-up photos revealed a heart-shaped, dog-face-like surface. ## Overview Pluto is a small icy body in the Kuiper Belt that was reclassified as a dwarf planet in 2006, a decision that sparked an unusually loud online reaction[2]. Widespread description of the move as a demotion led to online petitions and a new coined verb, 'to pluto,' which the American Dialect Society named 2006 Word of the Year with the definition 'to demote or devalue someone or something'[1]. The Pluto meme picked up a second wave in July 2015 when the New Horizons probe returned the first close-up photos of the dwarf planet, showing a reddish surface with a heart-shaped region that many said looked like the Disney cartoon dog Pluto, spawning Photoshop edits and sympathy captions on Twitter, Tumblr, and Reddit[3]. ## How It Spread Pushback started fast. Fan groups like the Society for the Preservation of Pluto as a Planet ran offline petitions, Usenet discussion in alt.planets.pluto stayed active for years, and New Horizons chief scientist Alan Stern publicly called the IAU decision 'sloppy' while pushing for reinstatement[3]. The July 2015 New Horizons flyby produced a major surge in Pluto attention online. Software engineer Gail Oxton, who joined the mission in 2002, said the team was 'devastated' when Pluto got demoted and that 'it still stings a little'[2]. Roughly 400,000 people tweeted about the dwarf planet on July 13, when the first close-up image arrived, and NASA's follow-up photos two days later showed ice mountains and informally named regions like Cthulhu on Pluto and Mordor on the moon Charon[3]. ## How to Use The meme is typically used two ways: as the verb 'plutoed,' meaning to demote or devalue someone or something[1], and as sympathy content around the 2015 New Horizons flyby, often paired with mock arguments for restoring planet status[2]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Pluto? Pluto is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper Belt whose 2006 reclassification by the International Astronomical Union sparked a large online protest movement[2]. ### Where did Pluto come from? The meme started with the IAU's August 24, 2006 vote that placed Pluto in a new dwarf planet category alongside Eris[2]. ### What does Pluto mean? 'To pluto' was named 2006 Word of the Year by the American Dialect Society, defined as 'to demote or devalue someone or something'[1]. ### How do you use Pluto? People use 'plutoed' as a verb for unfair downgrades, and Urban Dictionary defines Pluto as 'a loner reject planet that the solar system kicked out'[4]. ### Is Pluto still popular? The Pluto-as-planet debate is a classic recurring online argument, and the 2015 New Horizons flyby produced a major surge in attention when the mission team spoke publicly about feeling 'devastated' by the demotion[2]. ## References 1. [https://www.americandialect.org/plutoed_voted_2006_word_of_the_year]() 2. [https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/07/pluto-planet-matter/398516/]() 3. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/pluto]() 4. [https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Pluto]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/pluto Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library