New Mexico lawmakers push for memorial measure for Pluto

SANTA FE, N.M. -- New Mexico is taking pity on Pluto.

Though astronomers have stopped calling Pluto a full-fledged planet, some state lawmakers are pushing a memorial measure that bumps up its in status.

It delares that Pluto be designated a planet whenever it "passes overhead through New Mexico's excellent night skies."

The measure passed the state House of Representatives but was pending in the Senate. Patricia Tombaugh, the 94-year-old widow of Pluto's discoverer, called the effort "a very nice gesture."

The International Astronomical Union reclassified Pluto as a dwarf planet last August because its orbit overlaps with Neptune's. That caused hard feelings in New Mexico, home of Clyde Tombaugh, the astronomer who located Pluto in 1930. "We really took it as an affront," said Democratic Rep. Joni Marie Gutierrez.