Is it true the "planet" Pluto is going to be declassified as a planet soon?

Question

and why? (if it is)

Answer 1

A vote of the International Astronomical Union of 24th August in Prague had the effect of reducing the number of planets from 9 to 8 when they redefined a planet and created two new classes of bodies "Dwarf Planets" and "Small Solar System Bodies".

Pluto, along with the asteroid 1 Ceres and the Scattered Disk Object 2003 UB 313 (nicknamed Xena) was then classified as a Dwarf Planet as a result of the new definitions.

The IAU now defines "planet" as a celestial body that:

(a) is in orbit around a star or stellar remnants;

(b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape;

(c) is not massive enough to initiate thermonuclear fusion of deuterium in its core;

and,

(d) has cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit.

The third point is to distinguish between planets and brown dwarf stars. If a body has a mass of more than 12 Jupiters it will be a brown dwarf and not a planet.

This definition reclassified Pluto from a planet to a dwarf planet because it has not cleared the neighbourhood of its orbit (the Kuiper Belt).

Our solar system is considered to have eight planets under this definition: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

Three bodies which fulfill the first three conditions but not the fourth are now classified as dwarf planets: Ceres, Pluto and 2003 UB313.

A further dozen Trans-Neptunian Objects are being considered for inclusion as Dwarf Planets, as are the next 3 largest asteroids, lying between Mars and Jupiter, 2 Pallas, 4 Vesta and 10 Hygiea.

The IAU definition of a Small Solar Ststem Body is:

"All other objects orbiting the Sun shall be referred to collectively as "Small Solar System Bodies" ... These currently include most of the Solar System asteroids, most Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs), comets, and other small bodies."

Answer 2

Yes. Pluto was classified as a planet when it was discovered in 1930. Since that time, there have been numerous discoveries of other bodies that orbit the sun that are about the same size or even bigger than Pluto. There had never officially been any rules made for what constitutes a planet, so astronomers around the world decided to vote on it. They wanted to come up with a consistent set of rules for determining what is or is not a planet. If Pluto is a planet, then there are about 20+ other known objects orbiting the sun that should also be considered planets. It was finally decided that a planet is a body that orbits the sun, is large enough to hold its shape in roughly a sphere by its own gravitational force, and has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit. Pluto only fits the first two of these three criteria, so it was down-graded to a "dwarf planet". There are now officially eight regular planets and several dwarf planets.

Answer 3

No, that's completely false. They're not planning on declassifying it as a planet soon. It already IS declassified as a planet. It's now a dwarf planet. They set new rules for planets, and the characteristics of Pluto fit under the dwarf planet category.

Answer 4

Actually, the group of those who declare planets planets, have already met and decided to revoke Pluto's status as a planet, and call it a dwarf instead.

The reasoning has to do with both it's small size and the shape of it's orbit, which is an ellipse, rather than a circle.

Answer 5

Pluto has been re-classified as a dwarf planet because it has not 'cleared it's neighbourhood' of debris, for example it has a moon (Charon) which is kind of dancing around it not like other moons of any other planet.

Pluto is actually the head of a new class of Plutinos objects which include quite a few other objects out near Pluto some of which are bigger than pluto.

Answer 6

Yes it is true the board has met and decided that it does not meet the size requirements so it is no longer a planet just a rock out there

Answer 7

Hi Pluto man...
Yes , alas it's true. It has already happened actually. It is now a "dwarf planet along with chiron, a comet that fly between Saturn and Jupiter, I believe, and another satelite like peice of rock nicknamed Xena. All of them are dwarves flying through our system now...

Hope that helps

Answer 8

Yes, it has already been reclassified as a dwarf planet, along with many other similar, small objects orbiting the sun at a great distance.

Answer 9

it's already happened......pluto is no more a planet

On Sept. 7, the former 9th planet was assigned the asteroid number 134340 by the Minor Planet Center (MPC), the official organization responsible for collecting data about asteroids and comets in our solar system.

Answer 10

It already was, its now classified as a dwarf planet. It was changed because its orbit crossed the orbit of neptune, and because its size is relatively small...smaller than mercury or the moon. Another factor was the odd shape of its orbit.