About planet pluto's removal from the solar system?
Question:
Answer:
From its discovery by Clyde Tombaugh in 1930, Pluto was considered the Solar System's ninth planet. In the late 20th and early 21st century, many similar objects were discovered in the outer solar system, most notably the trans-Neptunian object Eris which is slightly larger than Pluto. On August 24, 2006 the IAU defined the term "planet" for the first time. This definition excluded Pluto, which was then reclassified under the new category of dwarf planet along with Eris and Ceres. Pluto is also classified as the prototype of a family of trans-Neptunian objects. After the reclassification, Pluto was added to the list of minor planets and given the number 134340. And it is obviously not a star
Pluto is still part of the solar system, and it still exists. It is still a planet - it is the type of planet called a dwarf planet. It is no longer considered one of the major planets.
Pluto is still there, whether it is called a "planet" or not.
Pluto is NOT a star -- it never was.
Just because a group of codgety old astronomers decide to call Pluto something else, doesn't necessarily make it so. They might change their minds the next time they meet.
not a star, there are some space bodies made of ice (i cant recognize the name exactly) pluto is one now.
we have nothing to do with it
its still a part of solar system and as a dwarf planet
its not a major planet
Pluto is not a star, it is a dwarf planet. Do you not know the difference between a star and a planet? Pluto was downgraded months ago to this new rank of dwarf planet. If it kept it's rank, they would have introduced 3 more planets into the solar system.
way back in the day, when they discovered pluto, they thought that it was much bigger. nowadays with the modern technology, scientists discovered that it is not actually that big and reconsidered the criteria for the planets. pluto, 'the 10th planet' xena, and one other are considered dwarf planets. hope that clears it up a bit.
Pluto hasn't been removed from the solar system -- it is still there in it's orbit.
What has happened is that the astronomers have gotten together and decided that, instead of being a planet, it is really a Kuiper object that was gravitationally captured and shifted into the odd orbit that it has.
The astronomers set a size range for an object to qualify as a planet, and Pluto was too small, so it has been officially downgraded to the status of a "dwarf planet".
The International Astronomical Union decided that Pluto was no longer a planet. The reason is that while Pluto is round, orbits the sun, and has three moons, it has not cleared (via gravity) its own orbit of debris. Instead, they decided to classify it as a "dwarf planet".
See the details below.
RESOLUTION 5A
The IAU therefore resolves that "planets" and other bodies in our Solar System, except satellites, be defined into three distinct categories in the following way:
(1) A "planet" [footnote 1] is a celestial body that (a) is 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, and (c) has cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit.
(2) A "dwarf planet" is a celestial body that (a) is 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 [footnote 2] , (c) has not cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit, and (d) is not a satellite.
(3) All other objects [footnote 3] except satellites orbiting the Sun shall be referred to collectively as "Small Solar-System Bodies".
Footnote 1: The eight "planets" are: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
Footnote 2: An IAU process will be established to assign borderline objects into either dwarf planet and other categories.
Footnote 3: These currently include most of the Solar System asteroids, most Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs), comets, and other small bodies.
RESOLUTION 6A
The IAU further resolves:
Pluto is a "dwarf planet" by the above definition and is recognized as the prototype of a new category of trans-Neptunian objects.
Pluto is still existing and orbiting the the Sun as ever before.; The semantics of the astronomers in removing the planet from the solar system does not affect Pluto.
More Questions & Answers...