The’r few mair controvertit warlds nor thon poor wee sowel Plutock. Cryed efter the Greek god o the fiery unnerwarld Ploúton, it is neither rocky or gaseous, an is the magink o this Sun Gird. Comprehendit in the stert o the Kuiper Belt, 3 billion mile fae oor sun, Plutock wis fund in 1930 bi American Clyde Tombaugh (1906-1997) an syne wis leetit the nint planet. Plutock taks 348 year tae gae roond the sun aince an swings atween lang seasons o jeelt ice an ice lowsings. It is jaloused the’r a rocky hert tae Plutock that gies oot the bittie heat that whiles drives the ice lowsings. The micht even be an ocean o watter atween the rocky hert an the grund mantle whaur life micht’a got a stert, tho we hae nae evidence o this tae date. A muckle ice field made o nitrogen and methane smoors this warld an the’r a puckle ice volcanoes made o jeelt, steive ice that’s a mile in hecht.  Awthegither, Plutock is a faur mair quirky warld nor we aince thocht.

In August 2006 a gaithering o astrologues fae aroond the warld votit that Plutock wisna, in fact, a planet an it wis cowpit fae its seat. Insteid, thay threapit, Plutock wad jyne a new group o bodies reclessified as ‘droich warlds’. This wis pairtly grundit on the size o Plutock – it is smaer nor the Yird’s moon – an the fact that it is ane o mony ice bodies makkin up the Kuiper Belt. The demission o Plutock fae the kinrik o planets wis ane that steert a stoushie amang the publict an fowk speirt pyntitly: jist whit is it that maks ony aff-warld body a planet or no?  Plutock haes mony o the kenspeckles that belangs a planet an even haes its ain moons – Charon, Nix an Hydra – wheechin aboot it, but, for noo, astrologues is content it is a droich warld.