2006-11-14 18:13:54 · 4 answers · asked by asiyathul f 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Pluto is the smallest planet, recent reports says that pluto is not further considered as one of the planet cause it is actuallay only 3/4 of the moon...........Pluto has one moon named Charon
2006-11-14 18:42:19 · answer #1 · answered by charlon 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pluto
on 24 august 2006, the international astronomical union reclassified pluto.
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 so it is not a planet.
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. many planetary astronomers are satisfied that the definition is rigorous enuf. i can accept that the definition is flawed, but i can not accept that "134340 pluto" is a planet.
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.
this same thing happened has happened before. in 1800, an astronomer found a body orbiting between the orbits of mars and jupiter and thought it was a planet. astronomers soon found several others and finally stopped classifying them as planets. no on thinks ceres, pallas, juno, and vesta are planets today.
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
2006-11-14 23:55:08 · answer #2 · answered by warm soapy water 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Pluto is now defined as a Dwarf Planet and it has one moon.
2006-11-14 18:21:17 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
it has been chastened and is very contrite. It wants to get back in the Planet Club but all the locks seem to have been rekeyed.
Pluto, being a Disney® character is too polite to moon.
2006-11-14 18:20:07 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋