Let’s declare a moratorium on mourning the demise of the planet Pluto.

So “voters” at some convention have downgraded Pluto to the status of “dwarf planet.” This in no way diminishes the significance of Pluto’s discovery in 1930 by Kansas University alumnus Clyde Tombaugh. He was only 24 when he hit an astronomical jackpot and created major favorable attention for his native state.

It was a big deal then and it should remain so, especially for people with allegiance to the state that spawned Tombaugh and educated him so well. It is up to knowledgeable scientists, especially members of the astronomy department at KU, to keep alive the discovery and to continue to pay tribute to the man who made it.

Then there is a clever verbal learning tool that should help perpetuate the eminence of Pluto because the “jingle” has been used for so long as a learning tool. How many recall the old method of recalling planets and their alignment that has been used for years in education: “My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzapies”? The first letters of each word offer a trick to remember the lineup of the planets: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Earth, Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and the much-discussed Pluto.

So even if Pluto has been downgraded and is being surrendered to the prominence of the Big Eight, it still will be recalled by many as they refer to the old formula. Then what about Walt Disney’s immortal cartoon character, Pluto? His image will help.

Sure, there are going to be people in and out of the field of science and astronomy who may not pay as much attention to little Pluto and Clyde Tombaugh as they once did. But Kansans still have reason to be proud.

Old Pluto ain’t dead yet! And won’t be for a long, long time if we work a little to perpetuate the significance of its discovery and discoverer.