August 25

Back in the good old days, when Pluto was still a planet and had not yet suffered the humiliation of being designated a mere Trans-Neptunian Object by the IAU, on the 25th in 1989, the Voyager 2 spacecraft flew by Neptune, the last major planet it could visit before leaving the Solar System. The entire Voyager Program utilized highly sophisticated scientific instruments. Of course, you have to take in to consideration the fact that Voyager 2 and its sister-ship, Voyager 1 were both built and launched in the late 1970s, which would explain the fact that Voyager’s data control system is a single 8-track recorder. This 8-track has a life expectancy far greater than 8-tracks used for audio playback. The International Astronomical Union should really take note of Voyager’s lack of success in locating Pluto anywhere in the neighborhood. Voyager 2 did however drop a couple of postcards in a mailbox, which have yet to be delivered to NASA. Therefore, as far as I am concerned the jury is still out on Pluto’s status.