Do you think Pluto is still a planet?

Answer 1

No i dont think Pluto is still a planet. I think the International Astronomical Unon had it right when they declassified it as a planet and classified it as a planet. First of though we have to define what a planet is and also what a dwarf planet is which is what Pluto is now considered to be.

The International Astronomical Union came up with 4 points that have to be met in order for a body to be classified as a dwarf planet:

a) The body must be in orbit around the Sun;
(b) It must have sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape;
(c) It has not cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit; and
(d) is not a satellite

They also agreed on what a body must be to be classified as a planet:

a)The body must be 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.
(c) has cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit.

Pluto's orbit is another factor that made it clear that its status had to be revised. Pluto's orbit is very eccentric, which means that unlike the other planets that follow a near circular path on their way around the sun, Pluto's orbit is highly inclined. This eccentric orbit actually brings it closer to the sun for a subtanial time during its orbit. Pluto takes 248 years to orbit the sun. During 20 of those years its orbit is within that of Neptune.

The discovery of Eris reignited the debate over Pluto's status. Eris is thought to be part of the solar system known as the Keiper belt which is very similar to the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, but is commonly known as a Trans Netunian Object. If Clyde Tombaugh, the man who discovered Pluto in 1930 had known about the Keiper belt it is very unlikely that he would have classified it as a planet.

If Pluto had kept its planet status it could mean in 30 years time when we discover other bodies like Eris (who like Pluto is now a Dwarf planet) we could have a solar system with 20 or 30 planets orbiting the sun.

This is just my humble opinion though :)

Answer 2

no, i never though it was.

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

pluto does orbit the sun, is ball-shaped and is not a satellite, but it does not have an isolated orbit (a bunch of other similar bodies have similar orbits.) 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 the sun between the orbits of mars and jupiter and thought it was a planet. astronomers finally stopped classifying them as planets after they found several other bodies with similar orbits, and no one 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

Answer 3

As NASA said recently , pluto and charon (that was concidered it's satellite) are forming a system called double planet. They are turning around an empty space in the solar system.So pluto is a planet in a double planet system (pluto is a dwarf planet)

Here is some explanation of what double planet means:

A double planet is an informal term used to describe two planets that orbit each other about a common center of mass that is not located within the interior of either planet. The formal term is "binary system". The term "double planet" has also been used to refer more generally to two interacting planets or dwarf planets of comparable mass. There are also double asteroids (or double minor planets), such as 90 Antiope.

Answer 4

It's kind of irrelevant what I think since "planet" has no clear definition. If we say Pluto is, we have to allow at least 3 other bodies to be, including pluto's own moon.

Answer 5

I agree with JDLr4...or smoething

We were born with the idea pluto is a planet....most of us can't deal with that chagne cuz its traditionally always been a planet so "IT HAS TO STAY THAT WAY"

I think the debate reflects on our culture..... for example...when a foreigner comes to the U.S..... you have those peopel who don't care...but the majority are like...you ahve to forget your traditions and live like an american.....but american's themselves can't give those up.

Also...majority of people marry someone that was born within 40 miles of where they were born and settle down somewhere close by. Again..a world with 6 billion people and millions of palces to live....they can't deal with the change.

My answer is no.... Pluto isnt' a planet. The people in charge of determining what a planet is says it isn't so it isn't.....Nothign else about it cahgnes.....its like arguing if the color blue should be called red.

Answer 6

No, Pluto is not a planet and never was a planet.

Answer 7

Do it make any different? Is a thing out there. I still think Pluto is a person name and also a name for Mickey Mouse's dog.

Answer 8

By tradition it is. But I hate traditions, specially those coming from the bad actions in history. i. e. birthday celebration, thanksgiving, christmas. Nobody wants to open their eyes to see the truth behind those events.
Oh well...

By science though, pluto is not a planet anymore.

Answer 9

Well, scientifically no, but most of the attending scientist at the convention that decided this left before the vote so who knows? But I wonder what will happen to that acronym-
My Very Eager Mother Just S(?) Us Nine Pizzas

Answer 10

yes ,they did that because they never sent a prope to pluto ,so they can say we sent 1 to every planet