Download Pluto Not A Planet

Pluto Loses Planet Status
Written by Denise Himes
The debate over Pluto being a planet or not is immense. What could Pluto possibly be,
according to the International Astronomical Union’s final decision of the definition of a planet, is
an object that orbits the sun and is large enough to have become round due to the force of its own
gravity. In addition, a planet has to dominate the neighborhood around its orbit. Pluto has been
demoted because it doesn’t dominate its neighborhood, and its orbit is somewhat different.
Therefore this makes Pluto a dwarf planet in the eight major planet solar system instead of a
major one.
A dwarf planet looks like a regular planet, but is not one. These planets are independent
bodies in the solar system which are large enough to flaunt individual planetary processes. They
have the ability to grow from irregular to round on account of the transition made possible by
each one's gravitational pull. Pluto’s orbit crosses Neptune’s orbit adding to its irregularities and
not dominating its neighborhood. Pluto and its moon Charon are known to be part of the Kuiper
Belt “scattered disc,” orbiting the sun around Neptune. Eris, another dwarf planet was found to
be bigger than Pluto in the belt. This caused some havoc because Eris had speculation of being a
planet.
As Pluto has the same characteristics of other dwarf planets (which are not planets under
its regular definition) due to the new definition of a planet, it is then discovered that it is part of
the Kuiper Belt and should not be continued to be called a planet. If astronomers were to suspect
an object that was larger and farther from Eris and Pluto it would be considered a planet. Since
that’s not entirely the likelihood its finalization of Neptune being the last planet in the solar
system is reasonable.
Pluto has always been an “oddball” when it was considered a planet. Its composition is
like a comet's. It is said that its elliptical orbit is tilted 17 degrees from the orbits of the other
planets and is only 0.07 times the mass of the other celestial objects found in its orbit, so it does
not meet the International Astronomical Union's third criteria that an object "should be the
dominant gravitational body in its orbit.” Another oddity is the way that the planets in the solar
system are aligned and what they are composed of. There are the inner four “terrestrial planets,”
which are Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. Then there are the four gas planets, Jupiter, Saturn,
Uranus and Neptune. Pluto is left, a very small ball made of rock and ice. This accurately does
not fall into either group. Since it has icy dense rocky characteristics as does the Kuiper Belt
objects do, Pluto simply belongs there.
Over the years scientists have found out more and more about the solar system and its
components. With further research and findings it is confirmed that Pluto is in fact not a planet
and will stay like that until more elaborate research is found. Pluto shall always be a dwarf planet
in the Kuiper Belt in our universe. But overall the biggest thought in this debate is not the
classification of the object but the difference that led Pluto to become something other than a
planet.
Cain, F. (April 2008). Why pluto is no longer a planet. Retrieved from Universe Today Web
site: http://www.universetoday.com/2008/04/10/why-pluto-is-no-longer-a-planet/
Chang, K. (January 2001). Pluto’s not a planet? only in new york. Retrieved from the New
York Times Web site: http://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/22/nyregion/pluto-s-not-aplanet-only-in-new-york.html?pagewanted=1