How Many Planets?

No, it's not nine. Pluto has been demoted, and is now classified as a dwarf planet, leaving us with 8 full fledged planets.

The International Astronomical Union's (IAU) decision means textbooks will now have to describe a Solar System with just eight major planetary bodies.

We now have 3 dwarf planets, they are

1. Ceres
2. Pluto
3. Eris

Visit the National Geographic for some resources and links on the solar system. The December issue of the National Geographic has a nice map of the new solar system.

The New York Times Lesson Plans has these lesson plans to offer:

1. Out of This World Revising the Solar System as We Know It
2. Space: NASA's Frontier A Lesson Plan for the Science, Social Studies, Language Arts, or American History Classroom
3. Seeing Stars Developing Planetarium Exhibits in the Science Classroom
4. Stellar Discoveries That Are Out of This World Creating a 'Guide to the Universe'
5. Discoveries of Titanic Proportions Understanding the Importance and Impact of New Findings about Titan