Six-year-old girl urges NASA to 'make Pluto a planet again'

Image courtesy: NASA (Representational image)

New Delhi: In 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU), the governing body of astronomy, downgraded Pluto from a planet to a dwarf planet.

12 years later, a six-year-old girl named Cara has stood up against the decision and has urged NASA to reclassify Pluto as a planet.

In a letter to the space agency, Cara O'Connor has asked NASA to 'fix this problem' for her and 'make Pluto a planet again.'

"I listened to a song and at the end of it the song said "Bring Pluto Back" – and I would really like that to happen," Cara wrote.

As per the Washington Post, she talked about the Kuiper belt, a doughnut-shaped ring beyond Neptune where many dwarf planets are located.

"I really think Pluto should be a main planet again like Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus & Neptune, because in one video I watched called 'Let's go meet the planets,' Pluto was at the very end," she wrote.

In another video, she said, Pluto "was put in the trash can and was scared by planet Earth."

"This was really mean," Cara wrote, "because no one or no planet or dwarf planets should be put in the trash can."

Cara's plea was acknowledged by NASA and the young girl received a reply from James Green, Director of NASA's Planetary Science Division, who complimented her on her interest in Pluto.

"I agree with you that Pluto is really cool -- in fact, who would have believed that Pluto has a heart? ... It's a fascinating world that appears to be constantly changing. To me, it's not so much about whether Pluto is a dwarf planet or not; it's that Pluto is a fascinating place that we need to continue to study," Green wrote.

"I hope that you will discover a new planet, and I trust that if you continue to do well in school we will see you at NASA one of these days," he added.

(With IANS inputs)