2007-04-10 12:04:20 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
who makes the rules anyway?
2007-04-10 12:04:55 · update #1
Yes!
Some drunk guy who happened to have pictures of scientists nude at a Christmas party and is black mailing them. Otherwise i got no explanation.
2007-04-10 12:08:39 · answer #1 · answered by Templar 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
According to the official definition of the word "planet" established in 2006 by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), Pluto is NOT a planet. A planet has three qualities: 1. It orbits a star. Pluto orbits a star (our Sun) but so do a lot of other bodies like asteroids and comets. 2. It is large enough to pull itself into a sphere under its own gravity. Some people think that Pluto was demoted because it isn't very big. Balderdash! Pluto is large enough to pull itself into a spherical shape and therefore passes criterion 2. Pluto's size is not the issue. 3. It clears its orbital neighborhood of debris. Pluto doesn't do this. Pluto's orbit is elliptical so it spends a good portion of its time in the Kuiper Belt, a band of icy bodies that can produce comets if any of them are dislodged into the inner solar system. The total mass of all the bodies that move through Pluto's orbital space is greater than the mass of Pluto itself. Therefore Pluto doesn't clear its orbital path of debris and isn't a planet by the 2006 definition of the word. I hope that helps. Good luck!
2016-05-17 06:11:20 · answer #2 · answered by ashlee 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No.
I've seen 3D models of the solar system showing Pluto's orbit, along with the orbits of thousands of other asteroids in the Kuiper Belt (Thank you, Celestia). It's easy to see that Pluto's just another rock in the Kuiper Belt, and not even the largest.
The IAU makes the rules, and they are the top dog on the issue. According to the IAU new definition of "planet", a planet must be the dominant thing in it's orbital region. Asteroid Eris is larger than Pluto, and dozens of other Kuiper Belt objects are larger.
Pluto, being the second largest known object in the Kuiper Belt is comparable to Pallas, the second largest object in the Main Asteroid Belt. Nobody consideres Pallas a planet, though they used to. The situation with Pluto is simply history repeating itself.
2007-04-10 12:10:05 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
My favorite planet is the SUN! If you are a scorpio such as myself, you are saddened to hear that pluto is no longer a planet.
2007-04-10 12:13:46 · answer #4 · answered by G H 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
International Astronomical Union (IAU) in Prague.
2007-04-10 12:16:19 · answer #5 · answered by robert p 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes. WE should be making the rules! we are the people..and now we riot!
2007-04-10 12:15:33 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
yes, it is big enough to be a planet. so it should be considered a planet.
2007-04-10 12:13:31 · answer #7 · answered by pimp squrt 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋