Is it true that Pluto is not a planet?

Answer 1

Yes. Pluto is now 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 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).

Answer 3

Pluto IS a planet. Just a Dwarf Planet. Is Jupiter a planet or a brown Dwarf? You could make the case either way. Just because a bunch of nerds decide what a planet is or is not dosen't make it so. If you want to call Pluto a planet, go ahead. if you want to call your dog Nebraska, be my guest. Personally I think in terms of 11 planets, 8 main planets and now 3 dwarves, with more to follow.

Answer 4

Yes Pluto is no longer a planet and its about time too. In the past they thought asteroids were planets, but kept finding lots of them in the same region of space and decided that they should be demoted to minor planets, a term which seems to have fallen out of use.

There are plenty of objects that occupy the same region of space as Pluto, some of which are larger than Pluto is. This is known as the Kuiper Belt. Its really just the same situation as we had in the past where scientists gradually learnt more information and revised the classification of something.

Answer 5

' REFERENCE MATERIAL ABOUT PLUTO
Pluto was discovered in 1930 as a result of an extensive search by astronomer Clyde Tombaugh. Some astronomers have long argued that Pluto's small size, less than one-fifth the diameter of Earth, and a weird tilted orbit that takes it inside Neptune every couple hundred years make Pluto more like a Kuiper Belt body than a full-fledged planet. On August 24, 2006, the International Astronomical Union passed a new definition of planet that excludes Pluto and puts it in a new category of "dwarf planet." '

Answer 6

Yes Pluto is no longer classed as a planet.

Answer 7

As of now, Pluto is no longer considered a planet. But the subject is still under intense debate and the decision may be reversed.

Answer 8

no pluto was the last planet to be discovered and only planet discovered by the Americans. coincidence i think not. if Pluto had of been discovered by anyone other than the Americans it would never have been called a planet.

Answer 9

No , it is .
Pluto is not a stroid, a comet, a star, a moon & not a planet,I don't know what the bloody pluto is!!!
It was proved planet by the astronomers for centuries, this prove that they don't know what they were talking about &they r bloody liers & stupid to contradict themselves.

Answer 10

Yep. It is official. Pluto is no longer a planet.