Why are scientists randomly adding planets to the solar system all of a sudden?

Question

This shakes the very foundations of my 1970s education or whatever. 12 planets? What in the name of Jack Junk is going on?

Answer 1

In truth pluto has been debated being a planet at all, witht the recent discoveries, they have decided that these planetoids are big enough to be planets

Answer 2

They are trying to NOT randomly add planets. The problem is that new rocks have been discovered, and it looks like many more rocks will be discovered in the future, so there needs to be a system in place to classify new rocks as planets, or something else (like an asteroid, a Trans-Neptunian object, a Kuiper Belt object, a "planetoid", whatever.)

The problem is that Pluto is really small, and creates a conflict: a system which includes Pluto could include thousand of similar types of bodies, including Ceres, an asteroid between Mars and Jupiter, and a couple of other rocks similar to Pluto. No good.

And if you don't include those thousand of smallish little rocks, you lose Pluto as a planet.

Hope this helps a bit.

Answer 3

People who are saying it's because the scientists are bored, are clueless. Astronomy has enough questions to keep astronomers busy for centuries to come.

The reason they're considering "adding" planets to the solar system, is that they are refining their definition of what a planet truly is. Pluto and Charon are found to be a dual-planet system, not a mere planet and moon. Xena and Ceres are big enough to be considered planets, they feel.

In the end, though, the definition of planet will have an arbitrary element. They have to draw the line somewhere between mere orbital bodies and planets.

Answer 4

I agree with the they are bored assessment. Can you imagine, grown women and men spending time and money to figure out if a solar body is a planet or not. Next, they'll be attacking the rose and want to call it an onion. Argh...come people, get a life.

Bruce missed the point...they do have plenty to do, worthwhile stuff; so why are they, the AIU, wasting their time with things that don't really matter? It certainly doesn't seem to be the science...must be boredom with all those things they should be doing.

Answer 5

Nope: Conspiracy theory

its conspiracy by the science text book companies so everyone has to buy new text books because the old ones will be outdated! they want every school to have to buy new ones so they can make some money. This is because the stupid school kepp the books till their so old an beat up that no one can read the pages except where people wrote in them like "Billy Bob was here 94' "

Answer 6

the AIU just updated the definition of planet and because that that,they are considering Ceres,Charon and Xena planets

Answer 7

Because we can see farther now, and they want to keep us interested in space for support and $. The Governments know much more about space than they tell the public.

Answer 8

the scientist are not adding planets,they have been there all the time .
but we had not discovered them yet because of our limited vision into space ,
with new technolegy our discoveries increase

Answer 9

because they have been waiting for over a hundread years to find another planet. they finally got bored

Answer 10

My Very Educated Mother...Certainly(?)... Just Showed Up Nowhere... (hmmm... does Charon come before or after Pluto? Aw, SCREW IT) Xena.