Hi Lisa,

I don't believe that Pluto will be reinstated as a planet anytime soon. Having "moons" is not a sufficient condition for a solar system object to be classified as a planet under the current definition of a planet used by astronomers and space scientists. Many asteroids in our solar system may have other asteroids or objects orbiting around them like a moon. If having a moon was the only requirement, then we would have to reclassify every asteroid found with a "moon" to be a planet. Instead, we are now calling these objects binary or double- asteroids. Here is a link to some examples of asteroids that have "moons:"

http://solarsystem.nasa.g...ds&Display=Moons

Pluto is considerably larger than these asteroids, but that also is not a sufficient condition for reinstating Pluto as a planet. Objects that are nearly as large, or possibly larger, than Pluto have recently been found beyond the orbit of Neptune. The largest of these objects, 2003 UB313, is now called Eris, after the Greek goddess of discord and strife. Eris appears to be larger than Pluto. If Pluto is reinstated as a planet because of its size, then we would also have to give Eris status as a planet. However, Pluto, Eris, and other similar objects are believed to have more in common with objects from the Kuiper Belt than they do with the terrestrial planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars), so it seems unlikely that we will add these objects to the list of planets in our solar system. Instead, Pluto and Eris are often referred to as "dwarf planets." Here are some links where you can read more:

http://solarsystem.nasa.g...Display=OverviewLong

http://www.nasa.gov/visio.../erisf-20060914.html

Kris