New Horizons Space Probe: Pluto Gets the Meme Treatment
— -- Pluto has gone from being a planet, to a dwarf planet, and now to a meme.
Now that New Horizons' flyby of Pluto is over and Earthlings are eagerly awaiting more images and information tonight from NASA, some people have decided to have a little fun sharing Pluto memes and jokes on Twitter.
Pluto's complex geological surface, where a heart, whale and donut-shaped features have been spotted, has been turned into a Rorschach test of sorts, with some people even seeing the outline of Disney's Pluto on Pluto.
Pluto and its largest moon, Charon, which is the size of Texas, were turned into a smiley face.
Pluto was demoted to a dwarf planet in 2006, just months after the piano-sized New Horizons probe blasted off on its 3 billion mile trip to the edge of the solar system.
Speaking of that demotion, Captain James T. Kirk has some strong feelings about today's Pluto flyby.
William Shatner, the actor who played the "Star Trek" character, tweeted about NASA's historic day, adding the one thing that would really cap the day off: Restoring Pluto's status as a planet.
George Takei, who played Sulu on "Star Trek," also couldn't let the moment fly by without cracking a joke on Twitter.
