If Pluto's not a planet anymore...?

Question

Then wouldn't they have to modify all the geography books and pics of solar systems to remove Pluto being classified as a planet?

Answer 1

All textbooks will have to be modified in future additions to not only feature Pluto's demotion, but also the additions of Charon, Eris, and Ceres as dwarf planets. Given the timing of the announcement, pretty much every science textbook in schools that features the planets is out of date.

The fun part is that there will probably be more dwarf planets added in coming years; Quaoar, Sedna, Varuna, Orcus, and Ixion are among the highlights. Each addition will require new changes to books.

Answer 2

There’s another concern apart from textbooks, Voyager Probe carry a plaque that says our solar system has 9 planets around sun. If the case when an alien intelligence intercepts it and try to use that plaque as a map to reach us, probably they find some troubles because they will think Eris (a dwarf planet) is Pluto and get fuss, or maybe they think new planets were formed or something. Maybe alien intelligences’ll think “these foolish humans never realized there were hundreds of “planets” like Pluto around its sun; they just saw one of them”

. The International Astronomical Union set three conditions for a celestial body can be named as a “planet”:
a) That it spin around sun
b) That has a round shape due its own gravity and keeps a hydrostatic equilibrium
c) That has a “cleared neighborhood” along its path
2. Pluto does not meet third condition because into one portion if its orbit interacts with Neptune, so it’s not a planet anymore. I totally agree Pluto not to named simply a “planet”
3. There’re 8 planets into our solar system: Mercury. Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
4. A new category is created: “Dwarf Planet” to designate a solar system body that meets all but third condition, that is has not a cleared neighborhood without regarding its size. I don’t agree with the word “dwarf” is little serious, a funny word I would prefer call it “Plutonian Planet” or “Small Planet” rather than “dwarf”.
5. There’re 3 “dwarf planets” into our solar system: Ceres (between Mars and Jupiter), Pluto and Eris (farther Pluto’s orbit).
6. There’re 45 objects that can receive the “dwarf planet” category in the near future.
7. Other bodies spinning around sun and will receive the name of “Small Solar system bodies” and include: asteroids, Trans-Neptunian Objects and comets.
8. Pluto and its moon Charon develop an uncommon relationship because both of them are spinning around a common gravity center located between them. So we can say that Pluto its orbiting around Charon or Charon is orbiting around Pluto. One of the rejected proposals was to make Pluto-Charon system the prototype of “double-planet” and give Charon the quality of planet as Pluto.
9. Discussion about “planet” and “dwarf planets” is not over, it’s alive and meanwhile it’ll force to change books, celestial charts, and the way of teaching around the globe.

Answer 3

All textbooks with Pluto as a planet are outdated. New textbooks will not have Pluto listed as a planet.

Answer 4

Textbooks are edited every few years anyway. You wouldn't believe how much new information is discovered all the time.

Answer 5

Yep. All those science books are now outdated.

Answer 6

yes they will...I looked it up a couple of weeks ago, and they call it a dwarf moon (or something of that nature)....wikipedia, google and other search engines should help with this topic.

Answer 7

No, they'd just call it obscelete or outdated material and move on.