To me, astronomy means understanding more about the universe we live in. We often get short sighted living on Earth, and we fail to realise just how much more there really is out there, not only in our Solar System but in the Milky Way and beyond! Learning about different planets and other celestial bodies opens up a whole new world (pardon the pun) of learning, and can teach us about past events such as the creation of our Solar System or even the universe. And by learning more about these foreign bodies, we are also learning more about the forces that govern Earth, how Earth came to be, and what may lie in store for us. Overall I think it is a very interesting subject, and while more down-to-Earth people (again, pardon the pun) may scoff …show more content…
Once considered the last planet in our Solar System, it was declassified in 2006 and is now said to be located in the Kuiper Belt. Pluto failed the third section of the planet test: the planet must have cleared the neighbourhood of its orbit of all other celestial objects. It was named after the Roman god of the Underworld, and has 5 moons. The largest, Chiron, is sometimes considered to be a twin planet to Pluto, since they are so similar in size and Chiron always faces Pluto the same way, much like our Moon does the Earth. The other moons, Nix, Hydra, Styx, and Kerberos, orbit at a greater distance, and are considered true moons. Pluto also has an elliptical orbit, and sometimes passes in front of Neptune so that it is closer to the Sun than the farthest planet of our galaxy.
There are three main characteristics that define a planet, and two that divide a planet from a dwarf planet. The two main characteristics between a planet and a dwarf planet are:
A planet must have enough "self gravity" to have a spherical shape.
A planet must have cleared the surrounding neighbourhood of it's orbit of all other celestial bodies and objects.
Although most dwarf planets inhabit the Kuiper Belt, there is one notable exception that reside in the Asteroid Belt named Ceres. Dwarf planets are also notorious for following long elliptical orbits, while the planets, though they still follow an elliptical orbit, are on a much more circular path. Overall, dwarf planets
In the Solar System there is nine planets total counting Pluto and eight not counting pluto. Named after the Greek god of the underworld Pluto is the ninth of the nine planets from the sun. Pluto was discovered in February 18, 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh. Plutos the only orbit planet in the Solar System after it was classified as an orbit planet back in 2006. The planet has nine moons total Charon, Hydra, Nix, Kerberos, and Styx. Although Pluto is the largest Dwarf Planet it's smaller than most moon of the other planets. Alongside Pluto is the eighth planet from the sun otherwise known as Neptune. Due to its blue coloration Neptune was named after the Roman god of the Sea. While neptunes the third largest planet with respect to mass, according to diameter it's the fourth largest. Neptune has 14 moons and a very thin collection of rings that are made up of ice and dust
Some might wonder what the difference between a dwarf planet and a regular planet is. There is basically only one difference between the two. That one key difference is that a dwarf planet has not cleared the neighborhood around its orbit. What that means is that it is not gravitationally dominant and that it is sharing orbital space with other bodies of the similar size. It is a very controversial subject as they still try to change the definition.
Pluto has such an erratic orbit that it crosses into Neptune orbit, which is extremely dangerous (science.howstuffworks 1). Although very unlikely to happen Pluto and Neptune could essentially run into each other with a possible explosion, eliminating one of our eight planets. If all the planets in our solar system orbit in the same direction than why should Pluto be included when it has an entirely different
Pluto should be considered a planet. According to Alan Stern a planetary scientist at the Southwest Research Institute "No object in the solar system has entirely cleared its zone." so that means the third rule rules out all the planets. It’s consider a planet. “The farther away a planet is from the sun, the bigger it needs to be in order to clear its zone.
thousands of small icy bodies orbit the sun. The planet appears to be typical of Kuiper Belt objects--only
It was discovered in Arizona, USA and an eleven year old girl from England won the naming contest, naming the new planet "Pluto" after the Roman god of the underworld. Astronomers are not certain, but they think that the composition is similar to Triton's with 70% rock and 30% ice. It has a low pressure atmosphere containing nitrogen, methane, and carbon dioxide. It is about one sixth the mass of Earth's moon and has five natural satellites, it's most famous moon being Charon. The other four moons were discovered in the 21st century, named Nix, Hydra, Kerberos, and Styx. There is a spacecraft called New Horizons that has just made it to Pluto. This fairly recent discovery, however, did not even make a full revolution around the sun before it was demoted to a dwarf planet for not complying with the last of the three planet requirements: "It has cleared the neighborhood of its orbit of any other space debris." It has now been named a dwarf planet, a title given to celestial bodies what are missing just one of the three requirements to become a
Once, Pluto was considered the ninth and most distant planet from our sun. Pluto was discovered by an American astronomer name Clyde Tombaugh in 1930. But before being discovered, an American astronomer name Percival Lowell was actually the first to caught hints of Pluto’s existence in 1905. He suggested that there was another world’s gravity that was tugging at the two planets, Neptune and Uranus, from beyond. It turns out that there was another planet, the smallest and ninth planet from the sun, Pluto. The now dwarf planet was named by an 11 year old girl from Oxford, England whose name was Venetia Katharine Douglas Phair or Venetia Burney. The astronomer did predict the planet’s location in 1915, but unfortunately he died without finding
Pluto is unlike the other planets in that it has an icy surface instead of a rocky surface, like the inner 4 (terrestrial) planets, or a deep atmosphere, like the next 4 (gas giant) planets.
Pluto shouldn’t be described and identified or labeled a dwarf planet because it has the same features as other planets, it does everything the other planets do and more, most importantly each planet is different making pluto the same. Pluto should be considered a planet it’s not fair! According to, Charles Q. Choi, Space.com Contributor, Pluto has 5 moons. According to Nine Planets, Pluto has an atmosphere consisting of mainly nitrogen extending to 1,600 km above the surface. According to Business Insider, scientists estimate that smooth patch on Pluto is only about 100 million years old, as
Pluto’s orbit is very different from the other planets in the solar system. There are three criterias you have to meet in order to be considered a planet. It has to orbit the Sun, be in the shape of a
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.
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.
Astronomers now label Pluto as a “dwarf planet” because it does not meet all of the criteria to be a planet. It is also not alone in its orbit; it is part of a wide group of small-scale objects that have been detected revolving around the Sun beyond Neptune.
In the outer limits of our solar system there is a planet unlike any other, Pluto. Pluto was discovered in February of 1930 by an American astronomer, Clyde Tombaugh. It is the only planet to have been discovered by an American. All though we have known of the existence of Pluto for over thirty years now, there are still many mysteries surrounding this celestial body. Being the farthest planet has made it difficult to study Pluto, Adding to the obscurity of this strange planet is that the capability to send spacecraft such distances has never been achieved. Through the wonders of science and astronomy, there are many things that can be determined, concluded, and hypothesized about this obscure planet.
Pluto is not considered a planet because it does not meet all the criteria of a full-sized planet. The three criteria are: it has to be in orbit around the sun, it has to have a sufficient mass to assume a nearly round shape or hydrostatic equilibrium, and it has to clear the neighbourhood around its orbit. Pluto only meets two of these criteria. It has not yet cleared its neighborhood, meaning that its gravity has not cleared the space around it. In addition to this, Pluto shares its orbital neighborhood with Kuiper Belt Objects. The Kuiper Belt is a circumstellar disc in the Solar System which is beyond the planets. Therefore, Pluto is considered dwarf planet rather than a planet..