Pluto & the Dwarf Planets

Out past the bright blue swirl of Neptune, where the sun looks like a tiny dot in the quiet dark of space, there spins a little world named Pluto. He's round, reddish-brown, and used to be part of the big planet group until one day he wasn't.

"I used to be considered one of the nine planets spinning around the sun, like my friends Neptune, Uranus, and all the others," Pluto said.

He remembered the time he was in the lineup. Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and yes, Pluto, the ninth planet. But now he was out. Not because he shrank, not because he spun the wrong way, just because.

"I didn't change. I still spin. I still orbit. I'm still me," Pluto said.

He drifted along his chilly path way out at the edge of the solar system. The stars didn't say much and the comets zipped by too fast to talk. Then one day Pluto spotted something in the distance. Four tiny worlds were spinning and laughing together near the Kuiper Belt. They weren't big. They weren't shiny, but they looked happy. Okay, Pluto, just go say hi. I don't see any big rings, gas storms. They're just other little worlds like me.

"He floated closer, careful not to bump anyone. The four little worlds stop spinning and turn to look," Pluto said.

"Hey, nice moves. You've got a smooth spin. You cruising solo out here? Wanna bounce some starlight with us?" Makemake said.

"Yeah. I mean, if it's okay, I saw you all playing and thought maybe I could join in," Pluto said.

"Of course you can," Ceres said.

"We're small but mighty and we've got the best views of the galaxy," Haumea said.

"And no giant storms or rings in the way. We do things our own way around here," Eris said.

"We're the outsiders, the weirdos, the cool ones," Ceres said.

"But I'm not even a real planet anymore," Pluto said.

"Neither are we. We're the dwarf planets," Makemake said.

"Come on, we're about to do loop-de-loops past Neptune. Pluto felt something warm inside like a tiny rocket engine sparking to life. Pluto floated closer. The little worlds were all different. Ceres was rocky and round like a bumpy space marble," Haumea said.

"I may be small but I've got layers. Haumea spun so fast she looks squished. Kind of like a space egg doing twirls. Wee," Ceres said.

"Try to catch me. I'm the fastest spinner in space. Eris stayed way, way out with a frosty glare that made her look extra cool," Haumea said.

"What? I like my space chilly like the cool side of a pillow. They didn't look like the big planets, but they didn't need to. They had their own kind of awesome," Eris said.

"They're maybe I'm not lost, just reclassified. I may be small but I've got five moons, a heart on my belly and the chillest orbit around," Pluto said.

"That's the spirit. Planet, dwarf planet, who cares? You're Pluto, that's what really matters," Haumea said.

"Five moons. Okay, show off," Ceres said.

"He's got heart and swagger," Makemake said.

"Yeah, he's got some edge too. He joined the loop-de-loops and twirls. The stars above watched as the five little worlds spun like a dance party in slow motion," Eris said.

"Tag, you're it. The dwarf planets spun, looped, and laughed through the dark sky. Pluto chased Haumea then zipped past Makemake," Haumea said.

"You know, maybe I don't need a fancy label. I'm not a planet. I'm not not a planet. I'm just me with a new crew. And with that, Pluto settled in among the dwarf planets. He wasn't trying to fit into something else. He was just being himself and that was more than enough," Pluto said.