is Pluto a Planet?

Question

Why isn't it still a palnet?

Answer 1

pluto is not a planet. pluto and charon are considered a binary system, but two small bodies orbit this system. they are called nix and hydra.

http://www.iau.org/fileadmin/content/pdfs/Resolution_GA26-5-6.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pluto

pluto orbits the sun, is round, does not have an isolated orbit (a bunch of other similar bodies have similar orbits.), and is not a satellite so it is a dwarf planet. this does not change anything about the solar system or pluto. it just corrects the mistake of classifying pluto as a planet initially.

this same thing has happened before. beginning in 1800, astronomers found a few bodies orbiting between the orbits of mars and jupiter, and they finally stopped calling them planets after the fourth discovery. astronomers then added numerals to the names, and pluto recently got its numeral. 150 years from now, no one will think of "134340 pluto" as a planet. very few will even know we classified it as a planet. "1 ceres" and "136199 eris" are other dwarf planets.

i have been waiting for this since i was about twelve. i feel somewhat satisfied. i knew that pluto didn't fit the pattern set by the major bodies in the solar system so it was an anomaly. it just felt illogical and "out of place". this was the right thing to do, believe me. i don't understand why so many are having such a problem with this.

i don't know how long this will drag on tho. many planetary scientists are not satisfied that the definition is rigorous enough.

Answer 2

Pluto, the last planet to join the heavenly pantheon, became the first to leave it. The status of Pluto had been under discussion for some time, but with the discovery of 2003 UB313, nicknamed Xena, the question became acute, for it seemingly had as much right as Pluto to be called a planet.

On August 24, 2006, the International Astronomical Union surprised the world by voting in a new definition of planet, one that would exclude Pluto and bring the total number down to eight. (There had previously been been strong speculation that the redefinition would bring the total up to 12 instead of down.)

Pluto was instead classified as a dwarf planet, along with Ceres and the aforementioned Xena. The main difference between a dwarf planet and the real thing is that the dwarf variety has not cleared the area of its orbital path.

This redefinition met with a wave of protests from those who wanted to see the ninth planet grandfathered in, including but not limited to supporters of the late Clyde Tombaugh, who discovered Pluto in 1930. His widow, however, said he would have been accepting of the IAU's decision since "he was a scientist" and understood that astronomers had to take into account newly discovered objects in the Kuiper Belt (where Pluto is located).

But opponents of Pluto's demotion remain unconsoled and have generated a thriving industry in T-shirts, mugs and other memorabilia. Among the many slogans of this movement was one which played on the mnemonic for the names of the erstwhile nine:

"My! Very educated morons just screwed up numerous planetariums."

Answer 3

Pluto is now considered a "dwarf planet."

The IAU members gathered at the 2006 General Assembly agreed that a "planet" is defined as 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.

This means that the Solar System consists of eight "planets" Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. A new distinct class of objects called "dwarf planets" was also decided. It was agreed that "planets" and "dwarf planets" are two distinct classes of objects. The first members of the "dwarf planet" category are Ceres, Pluto and 2003 UB313 (temporary name). More "dwarf planets" are expected to be announced by the IAU in the coming months and years. 


Pluto fails criterion c because it has many neighbors of similar mass.

Aloha

Answer 4

Hay wasn't Pluto Mice Mouse's dog?


No seriously Pluto was called a planet because it was discovered and no one knew at the time it had such a strange orbit and all that. So every one came to there censes and kicked Pluto from the Planet list. Good thing.

Answer 5

Pluto is unique, so yes and no is the answer. lol Pluto is one of many newly discovered Keiper Belt objects but due to the immense cost in changing textbooks it has been decided it would retain it's planetary status for now, although it's referred to as a minor planet.

It was classified as the ninth planet shortly after its discovery and remained so for 75 years. But on 2006 Aug 24 the IAU decided on a new definition of "planet" which does not include Pluto. Pluto is now classified as a "dwarf planet", a class distict from "planet", being assigned number 134340 in the minor planet catalog.

Pluto's official status as a planet has been a constant subject of controversy, fueled by the past lack of a clear definition of planet, since at least as early as 1992, when the first Kuiper Belt Object, 1992 QB1, was discovered. Since then, further discoveries intensified the debate in the 21st century.

I refer you to an excellent article in wikipedia for further info about Pluto and the IAU decision. :-)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pluto

Answer 6

Pluto is now considered a "dwarf planet". We have not yet been told whether we need to remove Pluto from the list of planets that we recite, or add the other two "dwarf planets".

Answer 7

It used to be:(
Poor Pluto!

it's now declared as a Dwarf Planet after the meeting of a delegation of scientists in Prague.

Answer 8

For a few members of the IAU, it is now just considered a dwarf planet. For most everyone else in the world., Pluto would still be considered a planet.

Answer 9

In my eye's Pluto will always be the ninth planet, no matter what the IAU says.

Answer 10

it is till now! not yet declared.....most probably it wont be coz there are many more heavenly bodies which are almost the same as pluto....if include pluto...those bodies should be also included..if not then we'll have 8 planets