Pluto is a planet again, at least according to a recent public vote on the issue. Various reports are saying that the celestial snowball with a surface of methane ice 3.6 billion miles from the sun might be considered a planet again.

Before 2006, Pluto was originally called a planet. It was first discovered and classified as such in 1930. However, after 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) downgraded it to "dwarf-planet".

The mnemonic "My Very Excellent Mother Just Sent Us Nine Pizzas" is no more.

The IAU booted the "Pizzas" part out because apparently, Pluto's gravity is too tiny and there appeared to be other rock-filled masses in the space after Neptune. Just like Pluto, these masses are too small for the IAU to be considered a planet.

The mnemonic "My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Nachos" was born for Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

Now, according to some scientists, Pluto is a planet again, reports USA Today.

Other amateur stargazers and astronomers apparently think the same - Pluto is a planet again. According to the Washington post, these astronomy enthusiasts thought the decision to make it a dwarf-planet is illogical.

The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics said in a press release that "a dwarf fruit tree is still a small fruit tree, and a dwarf hamster is still a small hamster."

In order to convince others that Pluto is a planet again, the center held a debate to figure out the pros and cons. They let the audience vote, and the audience agreed, therefore for them "Pluto IS a planet again."

However, the audience is only part of the debate.

Owen Gingerich, who chairs the IAU planet definition committee; Gareth Williams, associate director of the IAU's Minor Planet Center; and Dimitar Sasselov, director of the Harvard Origins of Life Initiative, debated on the matter Sept. 18 with the audience - with scientists, teachers and civilians - watching.

While Gingerich and Sasselov said Pluto is a planet again, with the audience members agreeing, Williams stresses that Pluto isn't.

Gingerich, who is also professor emeritus of astronomy and of the history of science at Harvard and a senior astronomer emeritus at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, stance is that "a planet is a culturally defined word that changes over time," and that Pluto is a planet again.

He added that the definition for heavenly bodies have been also been changing for hundreds of years.

"What is a planet is a culturally defined word that has changed over the ages," said Gingerich. "The IAU was foolhardy to try and define the word planet."

The sole nonconformist during the debate, Williams said that Pluto is not a planet. He referenced the IAU's official definition of a planet, and the debate's core, which says that:

  •  A planet must be in orbit around the sun.
  •  A planet is round or nearly round.
  •  A planet has "cleared the neighborhood" around its orbit, which meant it is not surrounded by objects of similar size and characteristics.

Williams stressed that Pluto failed on the third requirement, since other "dwarf planets" are near. Pluto also reportedly overlaps Neptune's orbit sometimes.

He said "Pluto seemed to shrink over the years" from about equal the mass of Earth to about 1/459 the mass of Earth.

"In my world, Pluto is not a planet," Williams concluded.

Meawhile, Sasselov said he still isn't ready to decide if Pluto is a planet again as what constituted a planet before deep-space exploration turns up more discoveries.

"Let's keep Pluto a planet until we sort it out," Sasselov reportedly said according to a report from Harvard.

Sasselov added that a planet can be defined as "the smallest spherical lump of matter that formed around stars or stellar remnants."

This fact opens up vast possibilities including reinstatement of Pluto as a planet again.

According to Nat Geo, after the debate considering if Pluto is a planet again, the Cambridge, Mass. audience voted on the mater, and the majority said yes.

However, the specifics of the vote have not been disclosed, reports the Epoch Times.

"Every time there is poll it turns out this way," planetary scientist Alan Stern told Time magazine. "The IAU have become largely irrelevant on this."

Is Pluto really a planet again? Apparently, not much officially, said a spokesman from the IAU.

Lars Lindberg Christensen, IAU press officer, told USA TODAY via email. He said "there are currently no requests from any astronomers to put this issue on the agenda at the General Assembly" of the IAU.

The next IAU General Assembly which would discuss if Pluto is a planet again is in Honolulu on August 2015.

"Pluto is a dwarf planet," Christensen concluded.

But for Pluto enthusiasts, Pluto is a planet again. The debate is a start for them, especially since the votes don't really bind anyone.