Planets in our solar system?

Question

My question is how many actual planets are in our solar system?
I can remember something about a new planet found past Pluto, (called Xena?) but have heard no more about it since.
Also, lately the planet Pluto has been demoted from planet status.
So, how many do we actually have?

Answer 1

We have 8 'planets' (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune). We have several more 'dwarf planets.'

The difference is that, during planet formation, a planet's gravity will pull in all the material around it, leaving a planet surrounded
by empty space. This is referred to as 'clearing the neighborhood.' A dwarf planet's gravity is not sufficient to pull in all the material around it, so it does not clear its neighborhood.

Pluto is now a dwarf planet, along with several asteroids and other celestial bodies. In fact, Pluto is a binary planet, because it and it's moon, Charon, orbit each other (the center of Charon's orbit is not a point inside of Pluto, but rather a point between the two bodies). So Pluto probably won't even be considered a dwarf planet for long.

This Xena, as you call it, is twice the size of Pluto. That's what reignited this whole controversy. It's real name is 2003UB313. Xena was only given to it as a temporary name.

Answer 2

there are eight planets in the solar system. they are mercury, venus, earth, mars, jupter, saturn, uranus, and neptune.

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

pluto does orbit the sun, is ball-shaped, does not have an isolated orbit (a bunch of other similar bodies have similar orbits.), and is not a satellite, but it is not a planet. eris is not a planet either. even tho it is about five percent bigger than pluto. both pluto and eris have minor planet numbers. they are "134340 pluto" and "136199 eris".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pluto
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eris_%28dwaef_planet%29

i have been waiting for this since i was about ten. when i learned that pluto didn't fit the pattern set by the major bodies in the solar system so it was an anomaly. it just felt "out of place". now that astronomers have found hundreds of other bodies with similar orbits, classifying "134340 pluto" as a planet is even more irrational. i feel somewhat satisfied, but i don't know how long this will drag on tho. this was the right thing to do, believe me. this does not change anything about pluto or the solar system. this just corrects the mistake of classifying pluto as a planet initially.

many astronomers consider pluto and charon to be a binary system, but two small bodies orbit that system. they are called nix and hydra.

incidentally, "134340 pluto" was never a moon of neptune. neptune did capture triton. this is why triton has a retrograde orbit.

Answer 3

Eight, Pluto is no longer a planet and Xena is a planetoid,

Answer 4

Yes, there are 10 planets now. But its name isn't Xena.. It doesn't have a name yet!

Answer 5

Now there are officially 8

Answer 6

You actually have 37, but we're hiding most of them.

Yours truly,
The Space Aliens

Answer 7

You would love this website Hubble deepfield.com it showes all the planets and a lot more