[Cowboy Bob]

I thought Pluto was declared "not a planet." If it is not a planet, how can it have moons?

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

Some would argue that Charon and Pluto are actually a “double dwarf” planet, since the center of mass of the two lies between them and not beneath the surface of either one. The earth barely escapes the ignominy of being part of the earth-moon double planet system because the center of mass of the earth moon system is about 1000 miles below the surface of the earth.

Charon and Pluto are also the only bodies in the solar system known to be mutually “tidally locked”. The moon is tidally locked to the earth, i.e., it always keep the same face towards the earth. Charon and Pluto always keep the same hemisphere towards each other.

[JerseyanExile]

It’s still a planet, just a dwarf planet.

[SunkenCiv]

Don't make trouble. ;')

"To Pluto And Far Beyond" By David H. Levy, Parade, January 15, 2006 -- We don't have a dictionary definition yet that includes all the contingencies. In the wake of the new discovery, however, the International Astronomical Union has set up a group to develop a workable definition of planet. For our part, in consultation with several experienced planetary astronomers, Parade offers this definition: A planet is a body large enough that, when it formed, it condensed under its own gravity to be shaped like a sphere. It orbits a star directly and is not a moon of another planet.