They say that pluto isnt a planet anymore, is that true, or is it still a plant?

Answer 1

That depends on what your definition of a "planet" is.

According to the new consensus of "experts", one of the criteria for a planet is that it must have cleared its orbital region. In other words, any object nearby it ought to be orbiting it. Since Pluto's orbit crosses over with Neptune's, it was decided that Pluto is not a planet. Why this did not also disqualify Neptune is not apparent to me.

So basically, Pluto is not a planet because "they" said so, and "they" make the rules.

If you want a better reason than that, though, I personally think that the planarity of the eight remaining planets' orbits is a huge factor which nobody seems to notice. You might recall those planet charts in which the planets are shown orbiting in nicely concentric rings? Well, the orbits really are concentric like that for the 8 planets now defined as such. Pluto, on the other hand, orbits in a different plane, and some charts show it orbiting askew to the rest, like this one:
http://www.graywizard.net/images/Astronomy/solarsys.gif

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pluto for more info.

If you are wondering about the people who said that there were going to be three more planets: "They" were determining whether or not to admit the new planets, and under the old criteria, they would have probably been planets. However, this did not sit well with the committee, and they decided to redefine the characteristics of a planet so as to not include the new ones. In the process, they cut Pluto out of the loop. It is now classified as a "dwarf planet".


/edit: What is this about Pluto having no sattelites? It has three...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pluto%27s_natural_satellites

Answer 2

When Pluto was first discovered it was thought by some to be bigger than the Earth. Since then better measurements have shown it to be much, much smaller. Recently more objects about the same size have been found. They were really too small to be called planets but since they were around the same size as Pluto, either they had to be called planets or Pluto had to be demoted to be consistent. At the recent meeting of the International Astronomical Union the non-unanimous vote was that it was no longer to be called a planet.

Scientists reclassify things all the time as better information comes in. Usually they reclassify bacteria, plants or sometimes animals or rocks. This almost never makes the news even though it is more likely to be important to us because these things are here on Earth. Pluto is a very long way away and as recently as 1929 nobody even knew it was there. So whether you call it Pluto, a dwarf planet, a comet, a rocky iceball or "Nellie" is neither here not there.

The only people who have a right to have an opinion on this are those with detailed knowledge of the solar system and astronomical classification schemes. What anybody else thinks actually does not count.

Answer 3

It was never a plant. Up until recently it was defined as a planet, however the new definition does include it. It is now considered a dwarf planet, which is not the same thing as a planet.

Answer 4

We have two definitions of planets:

Terrestrial: They are close to the sun and made of solid materials.

Jovian: Further from the sun and made of mostly gasses.

Pluto is a solid mass further out then the Jovian planets and orbits erratically so it doesn't fit either definition. Only if we add a new definition can we reclassify it as a planet.

Hope that helps!

Answer 5

According to the astronomers and all those people who decide what is a planet and what is not, Pluto is no longer a planet; it has been degraded to a dwarf planet.

Answer 6

certain, this is actual. the reason they gave is that astronomers imagine there ought to correctly be many products accessible the size of Pluto, and they are hesitant to call all of them planets. So in the journey that they don't call those products planets, Pluto can not be considered a planet both. good nighttime!

Answer 7

its now considered a minor planet along with some others that are more of a planet than pluto

Answer 8

Pluto has been officially removed from planet status!

Answer 9

According to NASA,Pluto has been denominated as a "Ball of gas" as it has no orbiting satellites so therefore according to official authority yes,Pluto is no longer a planet.

Answer 10

its an icy rock that orbits the sun. Its now considered a "dwarf planet", not a real planet