MVem JSun P

M Vem J Sun P. That's not the revised name of a famous rapper. That's the little mnemonic I invented in grade school to help me remember the names of the NINE planets in our solar system. Mercury, VenusEarthMars, JupiterSaturnUranusNeptune, and... Pluto.

But that got all messed up about a year ago when scientists decided that Pluto was no longer a planet. So that changed the ditty to MVem JSun noPe.

NOW, I read that some 4th grader has recentlywon a contest to come with a mnemonic to help us remember the ELEVEN planets in our solar system. Huh?? So, we lost poor Pluto, and now we've gained THREE more, and no one thought to tell us?? I checked the Hubble Telescope website, and THEY didn't even know!! And, ... to add to my confusion, some articles indicate that there are TWELVE planets. It's really hard to find a photo rendering of the new, improved solar system.

Seems that now, we've added three 'dwarf' planets to our solar system (with the potential for one more). And Pluto is making a come-back! The three dwarfs are named Dopey, Grumpy and Doc... no, um, sorry. Their names are Ceres, Pluto and Eris.

The contest winner's entry was My Very Exciting Magic Carpet Just Sailed Under Nine Palace Elephants. I don't think I could ever remember that one. These 4th graders are way outta my league! So, I must adapt my original mnemonic to something even a 4th grader would like for Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Ceres, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and Eris: M Vem C J Sun PE.

No worries, it will likely change again soon.