why Pluto is rejected from the planet family?

Answer 1

Pluto is part of the solar system's junkyard known as the Kuiper Belt. When Pluto was discovered, it was the only known object in the belt. Subsequently, we found thousands more objects (some larger than Pluto) floating out there.

All of the eight planets orbit the sun on the same plane (known as the "ecliptic"). Pluto does not. It's orbit is way off kilter, and is the same as the other thousands of objects in this junkyard. Moreover, all of the planets have cleared their orbit paths (meaning, they' re the only things in their path of orbit around the sun). Pluto has not.

It really isn't a planet. It's just a slightly larger than average piece of space debris -- that's all.

Answer 2

Pluto was discovered by T.W.Tombaugh in the year 1930. There is a noticeable feature of Pluto. It is the only planet whose orbit cuts through that of Neptune. This is the reason why it is believed to have been a satellite of Neptune in the past & thats't the reason why people are confused whether to consider it as a planet or not. It's not because it's small that it has been rejected out of the planet family as recent findings show that Mercury is even smaller than Pluto. So why not it be be rejected out of the family too.

Answer 3

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:

Answer 4

The change reflects astronomers' realization that Pluto is in fact a large member of the Kuiper belt, a collection of debris of ice and rock left over from the formation of the solar system and now revolving around the Sun beyond Neptune's orbit.

Prior to the removal of Pluto from the official list of the solar system's planets, astronomers had never established a rigorous definition of a planet, nor had they agreed on a minimum mass, radius, or mechanism of origin for a body to qualify as one. The traditional “instinctive” distinctions between the larger planetary bodies of the solar system, their moons, and small bodies such as asteroids and comets were made when their differences had seemed more profound and clear-cut and when the nature of the small bodies as remnant building blocks of the planets was dimly perceived. It has since become clear that the original groupings of the components of the solar system require reclassification under a set of more-complex, interrelated definitions.

If Pluto had been discovered in the context of the Kuiper belt rather than as an isolated entity, it might never have been ranked with the other eight planets. Within just a few years at the turn of the 21st century, astronomers discovered several KBOs that were each roughly the size of Charon and one at least as large as Pluto itself.

Answer 5

The scientist have some problems since (1) Pluto has its own orbit ---all suns, stars, and planets have their own oribts except the moons, which the Pluto doesn't belong to. (2) Pluto is smaller than other planets-----Pluto's size is equal to a dwart rather than as a planet. (3) Pluto is round--- every stars, suns, planets are round as well, however, suns and stars can release their own heat and light while the planets can't.
In conclusion: that's how the scientists said on the news.

I still think it's nonsense somehow, by the way, Pluto is my favorite planet--even though it doesn't belong to planet family anymore.

Answer 6

Because scientist found other objects in the Solar system that were of compaable size or larger than Pluto that they were uncomfortable with calling planets. However, if these objects were rejected as planets, then it seeed a little hypocritical for Pluto to retain its status as a planet and thus it was moved into the new category of "Dwarf Planet"

Answer 7

Because the are rules of a planet in the solar system and from rule number one pluto can't be call a planet :
ruke 1 : the planet orbit can't cut the other planet orbit
- pluto can cut the neptunus orbit

Answer 8

Everything that orbits our sun (and that still includes Pluto regardless of how it is labeled) is a part of our sun's "family". Read more about the minor bodies in our solar system, it'll cheer you up. And take heart that the New Horizons probe will still be passing by close to Pluto with all its cameras and instruments. Pluto is neither gone, nor is it going to be forgotten.

Answer 9

The new definition of planet is that a planet is a body revolving around a star and having enough mass that it's gravitational field is strong enough so that its orbit does not intersect any othe planet's orbit. Pluto's orbit intersects with Neptune's orbit. So, it has been demoted to the status of a 'dwarf planet'.

Answer 10

It was not rejected - it was reclassified. Pluto is small, in fact there's other 'bodies' out there nearly as big as Pluto. The choice was to either begin to include everything of a certain 'roundness' and size as a planet or to make a new classification called 'minor planet'.

This is what happens with technology. Sometimes, you reclassify things. I don't think Pluto minds.