Was it really true?!?

Question

is it true that Pluto is not considered as a planet anymore?

Answer 1

Yes. The International Astronomical Union recently adopted a definition of the word "planet" and it excludes Pluto, but that isn't as strange as it sounds. There never was an official definition of the word "planet" before. Unofficially, everyone kind of knew what it meant, but when several other bodies slightly, but not much, smaller than Pluto were discovered orbiting even farther out in space, they had to come up with a dividing line between what would be the smallest planet and what would be the biggest asteroid. Pluto, which was though to be bigger than Mars in 1930 but is now known to be smaller than the Moon, ended up on the wrong side of the line. But because so many people complained about that, they made up a new category, called "dwarf planet" and included Pluto and a couple other large bodies in that category, including Ceres, the largest main belt asteroid. So not only did Pluto get demoted from planet to dwarf planet, Ceres got promoted from asteroid to dwarf planet.

Answer 2

Until very recently there had never been a definition for the word planet. This is amazing considering how important nomenclature is in science. When they finally got together (last summer I think) they settled on a definition that left Pluto out.

What really caused a problem was when they discovered what would have been a "10th planet" out beyond Pluto. In truth there are probably dozens of yet undiscovered bodies that fit the new dwarf planet category. It also helps define the asteroid Ceres and a few big moons.

Answer 3

Ya pluto now is not considered as a planet now there only 8

Answer 4

By the scientific community it is no longer considered a planet.

This is because there are objects of greater size in the Kuiper belt than Pluto.

So the Astronomical Society ruled that to simplify things Pluto should be a planetoid

Answer 5

Capping years of intense debate, astronomers resolved today to demote Pluto in a wholesale redefinition of planethood that is being billed as a victory of scientific reasoning over historic and cultural influences. But already the decision is being hotly debated.

Officially, Pluto is no longer a planet.

Answer 6

yaah, coz its not a planet.
if pluto is considered a planet, then a whole other celestial bodies in our solar system, much larger than pluto can also be called planets.
pluto is (supposedly) just an object from the Kuiper Belt

Answer 7

It hasn't been a planet for a couple months now. It's technically a "dwarf planet" now.

Answer 8

yes. only 8 now