LEADING ASTRONOMERS WANT THE PLUTOID TO BE REINSTATED AS A PLANET

 

If you thought Pluto was going quietly and giving up its planetary status without a fight, think again. Leading astronomers have spoken out against the International Astronomical Union (IAU) decision to classify the dwarf planet as a "Plutoid," described by some critics as a "celestial underclass." The IAU decision was made after it was deemed that Pluto cannot be called a "planet." Although the spherical rocky body can tick most attributes of being a "planet," the IAU pointed out that Pluto is too small to be capable of gravitationally clearing its own orbit (plus it periodically crosses the path of Neptune's orbit); it should therefore be called a "dwarf planet." Back in June however, the IAU gloriously announced that Pluto should be now be re-classified as a "Plutoid" and any other Pluto-like planets should follow suit. But on Thursday, at a major conference in Maryland, leading astronomers will refute the Plutoid classification saying the IAU re-naming is confusing and unworkable.

It may be a Plutoid, but this little spherical rock is causing a lot of noise down here on Earth. In 2006, the IAU re-classified the definition of a planet to distinguish between the differences between the larger known planets with the smaller rocky bodies (such as the increasing number of observed Kuiper Belt objects). There are three defining characteristics of what a planet should be:

1.  It is in orbit around the sun

2.  It has sufficient mass so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape.

3.  It has "cleared the neighborhood" around its orbit.

204 - June Alien Casebook articles on one page
198 - July Alien Casebook articles on one page
All - August Alien Casebook articles on one page


Alien Casebook 'Frontier'      Alien Casebook 'Fringe'

Alien Casebook 'Forum

aliencasebook@yahoo.com