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PLUTO'S PALS

Is Pluto a planet, moon or star, why did Pluto get downgraded from a Planet and why are scientists calling for it to be reinstated?

Pluto was bumped down to dwarf planet 12 years ago and arguments about its status have been raging since

PLUTO was the last planet in our solar system to be discovered but was downgraded to the status of dwarf planet in 2006.

Since then, arguments have raged among scientists about whether it should be reinstated as a planet.

Is Pluto a planet, moon or star?

Pluto was discovered in 1930 and was originally considered to be the ninth planet in our solar system.

Scientists have, however, argued for years over the precise state of Pluto and whether or not it is worthy of being a proper planet because of its relatively small size.

From 1992, astronomers began discovering objects of a similar size or larger on the edge of the solar system, leading to the questioning of its status as a planet.

 Pluto could regain its status as a fully-fledged planet
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Pluto could regain its status as a fully-fledged planetCredit: Getty - Contributor

Why did Pluto get downgraded from a Planet?

The International Astronomical Union (IAU), the group that decides on names for planetary bodies, updated its rules for defining a planet in 2006.

In defining a planet the said it had to be a celestial body that orbited the sun, is round or nearly round – and here’s the important bit – “clears the neighbourhood” around its orbit.

According to the IAU, Pluto was simply too small to achieve the last part, which essentially means it can knock other space rocks and debris out of its path as it goes round the sun.

The body then demoted Pluto to being just a dwarf planet.

Why are scientists calling for it to be reinstated?

New research published in the scientific journal, says Pluto never should have been downgraded from a planet to a dwarf planet.

Lead author on the study, Philip Metzger, a University of Central Florida planetary scientist, said IAU’s definition of a planet is a “concept that nobody uses in their research”.

Metzger’s team looked back over more than two centuries’ worth of research and only found one study from the 19th century that used the IAU standard.

He points out that the standard used to classify planets changed in the 1950s on the basis of the work of astronomer Gerard Kuiper.

Kuiper stated the real determining factor on whether or not an object is a planet or not depends on how the celestial body was formed.

Metzger also believes a planet should also be defined on whether or not the body is large enough that its gravity allows it to become a spherical shape.

“That's not just an arbitrary definition. It turns out this is an important milestone in the evolution of a planetary body, because apparently when it happens, it initiates active geology in the body."

But the two scientists who spearheaded the downgrading are not impressed and have accused those who want Pluto become a planet again of clutching at straws.

One of them, planetary scientist Mike Brown of Caltech, is so adamant his Twitter handle is @plutokiller.

The AIU said it was happy for the controversy to be debated within the organisation.

The group’s representative Lars Lindberg Christensen said the way to do that was to bring up a motion with the group and it would be debated.

But he added no proposal so far had been submitted.

He said: "It is nevertheless good and healthy to debate these topics.”


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