Exoplanet Research Paper

Many issues have arisen from the debate whether or not Pluto is a planet. Some astronomers say that Pluto should be classified as a “minor planet” due to its size, physical characteristics, and other factors. On the other hand, some astronomers defend Pluto’s planet status, citing several key features.

The reading on terrestrial planets from chapter 6 provides readers with a little insight on the similarities and differences between the planets. These planets include Earth, Venus, Mercury, and Mars. Although these planets have very different properties, they are connected due to their history. There are scientific laws that help people understand, compare, and contrast these planets, such as gravity, chemical composition, and temperature.

To be qualified as a planet and object must orbit a star, is not star-like in that it is undergoing internal nuclear fusion, and has a gravitational force that will allow it to retain a spherical shape. Pluto certainly fulfills these requirements, however, there are Kuiper objects that also meet the same criteria. These objects have been classified as minor planets and have been assigned a numerical designation. Despite all the argument for demoting Pluto to a minor planet, its status has remained the same, even if solely contributed to maintaining historical context.

Outer space is a realm of new discoveries and possibilities. There is one particular planet in our solar system that is brimming with these possibilities. However, for nine years it has not actually been considered a planet. The “dwarf planet”, Pluto, has been overlooked and misrepresented in astronomy and planetary science. Since being demoted from planet status to dwarf planet status, little Pluto has raised some big questions about what defines a planet and what does not. In this paper, I will attempt to persuade you that Pluto should be promoted back to its original planet status. First, I will give you a brief history of Pluto, from its discovery to what prompted its reclassification. Next, I will explain the definition of a planet as given by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) and the definition’s flaws. Finally, I will discuss the recent discoveries of the New Horizons mission and how these new discoveries should lead to the reclassification of Pluto to its original planet status.

much a star wobbles or goes around the centre of gravity of the exoplanet and star, the violent wobbles must conclude that 51 Pegasi b is a Jupiter sized exoplanet. Hd209458 b is also a Jupiter sized exoplanet, which may have been determined using the calculation or the wobble method, having similar affects to its host stars light spectrum as 51 Pegasi b has on its host star. Astronomers are unsure whether the exoplanet named Kepler 22b is a larger Earth or more of a mini Neptune, as it is boarder line between a rocky planet and a gas dwarf.

Today Pluto is now known as an icy gaseous white dwarf planet and is the second largest white dwarf planet with Eris being the largest. My submission will support my argument that Pluto should not be classified as a Planet or a Small Solar System Body, but a Dwarf Planet as classified in 2006, by the International Astronomical Union. First, the physical characteristics of Pluto support that Pluto has been properly reclassified as a dwarf planet. Pluto's density and size are much smaller than all other planets, as studies have confirmed that Pluto's width is 1582 miles long and the length is 1400 miles long and its mass is less than 0.024% of the planet earth.

Pluto has been considered a planet for an extremely long time, until that suddenly changed on August 24, 2006. The International Astronomers Union revised the definition of “planet” and altered it to fit three criteria.

In the past the definition of a planet in space was a body that orbits a star, such as the sun, that reflects the star’s light and is larger than an asteroid. This is until new research by new technologies allowed us to learn more and change the definition of a planet. This new information changed the fact that Pluto is no longer a planet, but a dwarf. Dwarfs may confuse many people because it is hard to tell it apart from a planet.

When Pluto was considered a planet scientists believed the bar for being named a planet was extremely low. The old guidelines did not include that a planet had to dominate its neighboring objects. Scientists are disgruntled over the question “how round is round?” A scientist named Gingerich is proposing two different classes of planets be made. One for the eight larger planet and another for Pluto and other dwarf planets.

According to the new definition, a full-fledged 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.

What is a planet? Well scientists have argued a lot about what a planet really is and in 2006 they finally came up with a definition. They said a planet must do these three things: it has to orbit around the sun, must be big enough to have gravity to force it into a spherical shape, and must be big enough that its gravity cleared away any other objects of a similar size near its orbit around the sun. This definition only goes only for the planets in our solar system. There are planets outside our solar system and their called exoplanets, and they usually orbit a star outside the solar system. Scientist say that Pluto is not a planet but a dwarf planet. But in my opinion Pluto is a planet because a planet should be a planet no matter

Binary planets, or double planets, are systems where both objects are widely considered of planetary mass.

A dwarf planet is a celestial body which orbits around the sun. The body has to be large enough to have its own gravity pull itself into a nearly round shape. Usually, a dwarf planet is called a minor planet. The difference between a dwarf planet and a planet is that a dwarf planet’s path around the sun is full of other objects, while a planet has a clear path when it orbits around the sun. The term “dwarf planet” was coined in 1981 by Alan Stern, an American Planetary scientist, and have gone through a process of multiple draft proposals. Conversely, the final definition was set on August 24th, 2006. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) settled that “planets and dwarf planets are two distinct classes of objects", meaning that dwarf

The first exoplanet found, Peg 51 b, challenged the then present theory of giant planet formation. Models of giant planet formation stated that Jupiter-like planets form at distances of 4-5 AU, AU being the distance from

In 2006, the IAU set a definition for a planet in the solar system as the following: is in orbit around the Sun, has sufficient mass to assume a hydrostatic equilibrium (or a nearly spherical shape) and has cleared the neighborhood around the object. Dwarf Planets passed two of the three necessary requirements of the planet test. One is that they are always in orbit around the Sun and the other is that they are nearly spherical in shape. However, they did not pass the test of clearing its neighborhood of any debris. Planets are able to clear smaller bodies near its orbit such as small asteroids through collision, capture or gravitational disturbance. Dwarf planets lack the mass to do so. As a result, they have a weak gravitational force that is unable to keep its orbital influence cleared from asteroids that float around in the Kuiper Belt territory.