Long time no speak. We’ll have to catch up soon.

-Reacher.

The bottom line, said the Harvard astronomer Owen Gingerich, chairman of the Planet Definition Committee of the union, is that in the new definition, “Pluto is not a planet.”

Dr. Gingerich cautioned that there were still many things to be sorted out. For example, the I.A.U. may or may not create a special name for Pluto and other dwarf planets, like Xena and others yet to be discovered, that dwell beyond Neptune. If so, he said that “plutonians” seemed a likelier choice than the previous suggestion “plutons.” That term was protested by geologists, who pointed out that it was already used in earth science for nuggets of molten rock that have solidified and reached the surface.

With two more days before the scheduled vote, there was no guarantee that Pluto would not make a comeback and that the definition of planethood might be rewritten again.

I’ll be curious to see what other tweaks are made by the end of the day. This article must have been written yesterday and posted this morning, since the much-awaited vote takes place tomorrow.