Arguably the biggest astronomy story of the year was the hullabaloo about Pluto, and whether it should be classified as a planet. Astronomers were outraged, children cried, and late-night comedians joked. But in the end, the solar system shrugged. Although the International Astronomical Union voted to officially remove Pluto from the ranks of full-fledged planetdom, we can be sure that the issue isn't over yet. Regardless, . . . its two new moons were named in June. And . . . NASA's New Horizons probe launched on February 3rd and will make a flyby in 2015. . . . . . . Etc.

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