Today is a MOMENTOUS day in science. I am thrilled because I FINALLY have the answer!

Let me back track a bit, before I tell you the “big news”. You see, about a year or so ago, I started telling my then 3 year old identical twin daughters, “I loved you from here to Pluto and back.” Of course, they asked the natural question, “Mommy, what’s Pluto?”

My first response was, “Well, Pluto is a planet very far away.” Then because I’m a geek, I said, “Well, actually, Pluto not technically a planet anymore.” (These were words I would later regret.)

What do you think they asked?

Of course, “Mommy, If Pluto’s not a planet then what is Pluto?”

For over a year, I didn’t have an answer. And at every opportunity, I would ask a scientist, well, what exactly is Pluto? (I am not sure why it never occurred to me to try to google the answer.) The response was often, well I’m not quite sure. Then one day, someone responded, “Pluto is huge chunk of rock.”

I shared THAT answer with my daughters, but apparently that wasn’t good enough because my daughters CONTINUED to ask the question, almost daily. Yes, daily! They say, “Mommy, if Pluto’s not a planet anymore , what is it?” You have to keep in mind they are identical twins– so the question cames to my ears in loud STEREO –EVERY DAY, for over a year!

So you can imagine my relief today when it was announced that “Plutoid” is the name chosen for solar system objects like Pluto. Guess what GREAT NEWS I will be sharing with my daughters tomorrow?

So, it may not be BIG news for you, but in our household, this is GREAT NEWS!