Pluto, which has lost its status as a planet, has been declared the official state planet for Arizona.
The Arizona authorities signed legislation on Friday making Pluto its official state planet and said that they are proud of the state’s work in space discovery.
Dodging the question about whether or not Pluto is a full-fledged planet Governor Katie Hobbs said, I am proud of Arizona’s pioneering work in space discovery, The Arizona Daily Star reported.
The local news paper said that the Pluto was discovered in Flagstaff, Arizona, by astronomer Clyde Tombaugh in 1930 at the Lowell Observatory and this is the only planet discovered in the US.
Applauding the Pluto legislation, Arizona state Rep. Justin Wilmeth (R-Phoenix) recalled the discovery story of Pluto.
In 2006, the International Astronomical Union voted to strip Pluto of its official status as a planet but instead, it was reclassified as a dwarf planet because it has not cleared its neighboring region of other objects like asteroids and other space rocks over time like other planets due to its low gravitational pull, according to the IAU.
It might matter to some that are going to get picky or persnickety about stuff,” the Republican told The Daily Star.
Others were less enthused about naming a dwarf planet the Arizona’s official state planet.
Meanwhile, Sen. Sally Ann Gonzales (D-Tucson), one of five senators who voted against the measure, said that scientifically, they took it out of being a planet, The New York Post reported.
Gonzalez said she believes lawmakers should always consider scientific information, something that we as a Legislature, as a body, sometimes omit.”
