?Should Pluto now be known not as a plant but something else?

Question

I heard on the news that Pluto is smaller than originally thought and smaller than our moon so scientists now don't want it to be known as a planet, but after all this time should we change it? What is a definition of a planet

Should be: Should Pluto now be known not as a planet but something else sorry for the mistake

Answer 1

Leave it as it is, People will still call it a planet whatever the out come.

Answer 2

The reason they are changing the classification of pluto is because they have changed the definition of a planet. A planet now has to have cleared its orbit of all debris, in addition to having enough gravity to be spherical, in order to be considered a planet. Because Pluto gets sucked into Neptune's orbit from time to time, they arent considering it a planet any more. Pluto is now a "Dwarf Planet"

I think it will be one of those things that will take gettin used to, but if we were to continue to consider Pluto a plannet, we would also have to count any newly discovered objects in our solar system as planets. If we did that, the number of planet would skyrocket.

Answer 3

One group wants to make it not a planet, another group wants to add 3 more, including one of the moons of pluto.

If we cannot get our scientists to even agree on this how are we suppposed to know if global warming is real or not?

It sounds to me like government grants gone bad.

We have spent billions of dollars in NY after 9/11 and we still have a huge hole in the ground.

Billions on New Orleans and homes are still a shamble.

Who knows anything anymore?

We have people out there that will do or say anything to make a buck, except an honest hard days work.

What the F#*#? I know nothing.

Answer 4

I don't know, but if Pluto has a atmosphere of any type, unlike our moon, then it should be a planet, that my definition, but i dont know if pluto has one or not.

But I can accept the Drawf statist, as long a planet is next to it, I mean think about it, there are human Drawfs, in fact TLC,and Discovery loves pointing that out (Shortest ppl, small world), but there still humans, nothing changed but the name

Same thing with these new fruits, that everyone keeps pointing out, that once would be considered vegetables, cucombers, tomatos, and now the oily flesh of the avacado, if its not sweet, in my opinion, its not a fruit

Answer 5

Pluto shouldn't ever been known as a Plant, a Planet maybe, but it is too large to be a Plant!

Answer 6

Pluto must remain a planet! What will all the Plutocrats do without their own planet!

Answer 7

I think Pluto should be known as a part of space and it should actually be looked at as a possible energy source. I believe nothing is unusable.

Answer 8

It is not a planet. It's too small and has no natural satelite. Sorry pluto, back to asteroid status for you.

Answer 9

ive been told that pluto isnt considered a planet anymore because its orbit interferes with the orbit of neptune so it no longer fits the requirements for somethin to be a planet.

Answer 10

Well I was going to say that as far as I'm aware no one is going to call it a plant... but you never know...

The official definition:

The IAU therefore resolves that "planets" and other bodies in our Solar System be defined into three distinct categories in the following way:

(1) A "planet"1 is a celestial body that (a) is in orbit around the Sun, (b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape, and (c) has cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit.

(2) A "dwarf planet" is a celestial body that (a) is in orbit around the Sun, (b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape2 , (c) has not cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit, and (d) is not a satellite.

(3) All other objects3 except satellites orbiting the Sun shall be referred to collectively as "Small Solar-System Bodies".

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1The eight planets are: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
2An IAU process will be established to assign borderline objects into either dwarf planet and other categories.
3These currently include most of the Solar System asteroids, most Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs), comets, and other small bodies.
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I don't like 1(c) - it's not very scientific and I'd also like to know exactly how they define a satellite.

And there are many experts who are opposed to the latest resolution.

Answer 11

The news I heard said it's now classed as a dwarf planet, but if that's the case why bother changing it, if it's still a planet be it dwarf or not.