What really happened to the planet Pluto???

Question

Need exact details.

Answer 1

"Pluto is not a planet," Brown said. "There are finally, officially, eight planets in the solar system."

The vote involved just 424 astronomers who remained for the last day of a meeting of the International Astronomical Union in Prague.

"I'm embarrassed for astronomy. Less than 5 percent of the world's astronomers voted," said Alan Stern, leader of NASA's New Horizons mission to Pluto and a scientist at the Southwest Research Institute.

"This definition stinks, for technical reasons," Stern told Space.com. He expects the astronomy community to overturn the decision. Other astronomers criticized the definition as ambiguous.

The resolution
The decision establishes three main categories of objects in our solar system.

Planets: The eight worlds starting with Mercury and moving out to Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
Dwarf planets: Pluto and any other round object that "has not cleared the neighborhood around its orbit, and is not a satellite."
Small solar system bodies: All other objects orbiting the sun.
Pluto and its moon Charon, which would both have been planets under the initial definition proposed Aug. 16, now get demoted because they are part of a sea of other objects that occupy the same region of space. Earth and the other eight large planets have, on the other hand, cleared broad swaths of space of any other large objects.

"Pluto is a dwarf planet by the ... definition and is recognized as the prototype of a new category of trans-Neptunian objects," states the approved resolution.

Dwarf planets are not planets under the definition, however.

"There will be hundreds of dwarf planets," Brown predicted. He has already found dozens that fit the category.

Contentious logic
The vote came after eight days of contentious debate that involved four separate proposals at the group's meeting in Prague.

The initial proposal, hammered out by a group of seven astronomers, historians and authors, attempted to preserve Pluto as a planet but was widely criticized for diluting the meaning of the word. It would also have made planets out of the asteroid Ceres and Pluto's moon Charon. But not now.

PLUTO'S PREDICAMENT
Learn more about our former ninth planet, and voice your view on the controversy:
• Read the IAU's planet definition
• Graphic: Where the planets are
• Widow of Pluto's discoverer 'shook up'
• Cosmic Log: The lighter side of Pluto
• Cast your vote on Pluto's ultimate fate
• Sound off on Pluto's demotion


"Ceres is a dwarf planet. it's the only dwarf planet in the asteroid belt," Brown said. "Charon is a satellite."

The category of "dwarf planet" is expected to include dozens of round objects already discovered beyond Neptune. Ultimately, hundreds will probably be found, astronomers say.

The word "planet" originally described wanderers of the sky that moved against the relatively fixed background of star. Pluto, discovered in 1930, was at first thought to be larger than it is. It has an eccentric orbit that crosses the path of Neptune and also takes it well above and below the main plane of the solar system.

Recent discoveries of other round, icy object in Pluto's realm have led most astronomers to agree that the diminutive world should never have been termed a planet.

'A farce'
Stern, in charge of the robotic probe on its way to Pluto, said the language of the resolution is flawed. It requires that a planet "has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit." But Earth, Mars, Jupiter and Neptune all have asteroids as neighbors.

"It's patently clear that Earth's zone is not cleared," Stern told Space.com. "Jupiter has 50,000 Trojan asteroids," which orbit in lockstep with the planet.

ALL ABOUT PLUTO

• Pluto's day: 6.4 Earth days.
• Pluto's year: 248 Earth years.
• Average distance from sun: 3.7 billion miles, or 5.9 billion kilometers.
• What's in a name? Pluto is also the name of the Roman god of the underworld. It was suggested by many people, but credit was given to an 11-year-old girl from England.
• Graphic: Where the planets are
MSNBC / AP


Stern called it "absurd" that only 424 astronomers were allowed to vote, out of about 10,000 professional astronomers around the globe.

"It won't stand," he said. "It's a farce."

Stern said astronomers are already circulating a petition that would try to overturn the IAU decision.

Owen Gingerich, historian and astronomer emeritus at Harvard who led the committee that proposed the initial definition, called the new definition "confusing and unfortunate" and said he was "not at all pleased" with the language about clearing the neighborhood.

Gingerich also did not like the term "dwarf" planet.

"I thought that it made a curious linguistic contradiction," Gingerich said during a telephone interview from Boston (where he could not vote). "A dwarf planet is not a planet. I thought that was very awkward."

Gingerich added: "In the future, one would hope the IAU could do electronic balloting."

Years of debate
Astronomers have argued since the late 1990s on whether to demote Pluto. Public support for Pluto has weighed heavily on the debate. Today's vote comes after a two-year effort by the IAU to develop a definition. An initial committee of astronomers failed for a year to do so, leading to the formation of the second committee whose proposed definition was then redefined for Thursday's vote.

PLUTO IN PERSPECTIVE

Nightly News/NASA
Even though Pluto may have lost its official status as a planet, the frozen world and its kin are still worthy of study, says Louis Friedman, executive director of the nonprofit Planetary Society. “Anytime we visit a new world — planet, moon, asteroid, comet, whatever — we make exciting and surprising new discoveries about the evolution of our solar system and about our own planet,” he said.

NASA's New Horizons probe is in the midst of a 9½-year journey to study Pluto and other icy mini-worlds, and NASA's Paul Hertz said Thursday's decision would have no effect on the mission. “We will continue pursuing exploration of the most scientifically interesting objects in the solar system, regardless of how they are categorized,” he said.

• Probe begins journey to Pluto
• Video: NBC on New Horizons' mission
• Pluto found to have two more moons
MSNBC.com


Astronomers at the IAU meeting debated the proposals right up to the moment of the vote.

Caltech's Mike Brown loses out in one sense. The Pluto-sized object his team found, called 2003 UB313, will now be termed a dwarf planet.

"As of today I have no longer discovered a planet," he said. But Brown called the result scientifically a good decision.

"The public is not going to be excited by the fact that Pluto has been kicked out," Brown said. "But it's the right thing to do."

Textbooks and classroom charts will, of course, have to be revised.

"For astronomers, this doesn't matter one bit. We'll go out and do exactly what we did," Brown said. "For teaching this is a very interesting moment. I think you can describe science much better now" by explaining why Pluto was once thought to be a planet and why it isn't now. "I'm actually very excited."

Answer 2

There was a meeting of a religious group of astronomers, who felt that only large planets should be called "planets." They should be round because of gravity, not because they were filed down, and, oh, yes, they must have an orbit as declared by God, not out of line as only a work of Satan could be.

There was a problem with this rigorously doctrinal definition: the earth did not fit; it was not large enough. No planet found around another sun has been anything close to the earth's size. Well, they decided to allow smaller, rougher bodies as planets, in an epiphany similar to that the Mormons had in finding polygamy against God's word. Necessity, as they say, is the mother of invention.

Well, the high priests were in a snit. How could the earth be a planet and not Mercury, Venus and Mars? Ok, they were allowed in. But - but - but: they are smaller than earth!

Yes, but they have rounder orbits, and we all know God would not allow a planet to vary too much from a perfect orbit, so Pluto is definitely not a planet.

So it was promulgated ex cathedra by the astronomers.

Some are now muttering that Neptune is too small. Be sure to read Gulliver's Travels for an excellent discussion of this kind of religious experience.

Answer 3

What Happened To Pluto

Answer 4

After a tumultuous week of clashing over the essence of the cosmos, the International Astronomical Union stripped Pluto of the planetary status it has held since its discovery in 1930. The new definition of what is -- and isn't -- a planet fills a centuries-old black hole for scientists who have labored since Copernicus without one.

Although astronomers applauded after the vote, Jocelyn Bell Burnell -- a specialist in neutron stars from Northern Ireland who oversaw the proceedings -- urged those who might be "quite disappointed" to look on the bright side.

"It could be argued that we are creating an umbrella called 'planet' under which the dwarf planets exist," she said, drawing laughter by waving a stuffed Pluto of Walt Disney fame beneath a real umbrella.

The decision by the prestigious international group spells out the basic tests that celestial objects will have to meet before they can be considered for admission to the elite cosmic club.

For now, membership will be restricted to the eight "classical" planets in the solar system: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

Much-maligned Pluto doesn't make the grade under the new rules for a planet: "a celestial body that is in orbit around the sun, has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a ... nearly round shape, and has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit."

Instead, it will be reclassified in a new category of "dwarf planets," similar to what long have been termed "minor planets." The definition also lays out a third class of lesser objects that orbit the sun -- "small solar system bodies," a term that will apply to numerous asteroids, comets and other natural satellites.

It was unclear how Pluto's demotion might affect the mission of NASA's New Horizons spacecraft, which earlier this year began a 9 1/2-year journey to the oddball object to unearth more of its secrets.

The decision at a conference of 2,500 astronomers from 75 countries was a dramatic shift from just a week ago, when the group's leaders floated a proposal that would have reaffirmed Pluto's planetary status and made planets of its largest moon and two other objects. (Watch why some think planet size doesn't matter -- 3:39)

That plan proved highly unpopular, splitting astronomers into factions and triggering days of sometimes combative debate that led to Pluto's undoing.

Now, two of the objects that at one point were cruising toward possible full-fledged planethood will join Pluto as dwarfs: the asteroid Ceres, which was a planet in the 1800s before it got demoted, and 2003 UB313, an icy object slightly larger than Pluto whose discoverer, Michael Brown of the California Institute of Technology, has nicknamed "Xena."

Charon, the largest of Pluto's three moons, is no longer under consideration for any special designation.

Brown was pleased by the decision. He had argued that Pluto and similar bodies didn't deserve planet status, saying that would "take the magic out of the solar system."

"UB313 is the largest dwarf planet. That's kind of cool," he said.

Answer 5

qualities that should be pocessed by a planat
It needs to be in orbit around the Sun –
Yes, so maybe Pluto is a planet.
It needs to have enough gravity to pull itself into a spherical shape –
Pluto…check
It needs to have “cleared the neighborhood” of its orbit –
Uh oh. Here’s the rule breaker. According to this, Pluto is not a planet
.Pluto is only 0.07 times the mass of the other objects in its orbit.
so that it is not able to consume or sling them away with its gravity.we dont know what could happen in the future. pluto could still be massive and become our ninth planet.

Answer 6

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RE:
What really happened to the planet Pluto???
Need exact details.

Answer 7

Pluto had been removed from the "classical planets" category. It is now classified as a "dwarf planet" or a "pluton" along with Ceres.
The International Astronomical Union met in Prague and declared this decision, saying that its not fit to be a planet due to its icy composition and relatively small size.

The international body said that a planet must orbit the sun, be large enough to assume a nearly round shape and clear the neighborhood around its orbit.

Answer 8

Absolutely nothing happened to Pluto. Pluto is still the exact same hunk of rock and ice, in the exact same orbit, around the exact same star. Only Pluto's classification has been changed from "planet" to "dwarf-planet". .

Answer 9

Pluto aint a planet

Answer 10

a group of geniuses disagreed that pluto was big enough to be a planet and argued over it in a conference...then they won and pluto is now called a 'dwarf planet'!!

Answer 11

Nothing, It's Still There, Just Been Re Classified By Idiot Scientists Who Want To Validate thier Funding.