Pluto and the definition of a planet

[Neanderthaland]

All I’m hearing from my detractors is that Pluto isn’t a planet because it’s slow.

It’s doing the same thing as all the other planets it’s just doing it slower, so dwarf people are still people dwarf planets are still planets.

You should check your hearing. That's not why Pluto isn't a planet.

[Polska Lietuva Commonwealth]

Technically, by the IAU's Standards, there are no planets in the solar system.

Further, they didn't let the planetary scientists - the people tasked to actually study planets - vote during the conference.

The Pluto Move was just political maneuvering in the astronomy community.

[Cekoviu]

Hot take: the diameter of an astral body must be less than 2000 km for it to be considered a planet

[Nobel Hobos 2]

It's the orbit which does it for me. Out of the plane, and so elliptical it comes inside the orbit of Neptune. No planet does that.

As I understand it, Pluto forming in place has not been ruled out. But it's very unlikely: it's almost certainly a large asteroid that was captured. Until the unlikely event that it is proven to have formed in place ... not a planet.

[Auze]

It's the orbit which does it for me. Out of the plane, and so elliptical it comes inside the orbit of Neptune. No planet does that.

Kinda hard to say that when you have a sample size of 8.

[Farnhamia]

Hot take: the diameter of an astral body must be less than 2000 km for it to be considered a planet

I'm a planet! I knew it! *orbits ecstatically*

[New haven america]

Pluto is tiny compared to all of the other planets in the solar system. It's smaller than Luna and only a little bit bigger than Russia.

Hell, compared to the natural satellites of the solar system it's small, more spherical moons are larger than it than less.

[Bombadil]

There's a program called QI and they did, or maybe still do, this thing about how many moons the earth has. Apparently, according to some definition of a 'moon', there's potentially thousands of moons going round earth. Except it's stupid, because the moon came before the definition of 'moon'. It's the fucking moon. Define it as another name if you want, where you can include all other like objects but the issue in defining a moon is that you can define the moon out of being a moon.

That being said, in my mind Pluto is a planet and there are 9 planets because that is what I was brought up to believe and, well, screw science and its endless need to define everything out of existence.

[Albrenia]

All I’m hearing from my detractors is that Pluto isn’t a planet because it’s slow.

It’s doing the same thing as all the other planets it’s just doing it slower, so dwarf people are still people dwarf planets are still planets.

I don't believe it has anything to do with its speed, but something to do with its failure to clear its orbit of other objects. Or something. I haven't bothered to look into it much to be honest.

[New haven america]

All I’m hearing from my detractors is that Pluto isn’t a planet because it’s slow.

It’s doing the same thing as all the other planets it’s just doing it slower, so dwarf people are still people dwarf planets are still planets.

I don't believe it has anything to do with its speed, but something to do with its failure to clear its orbit of other objects. Or something. I haven't bothered to look into it much to be honest.

A planet orbit a star needs to be able to keep debris out of it's general vicinity, excluding the occasional asteroid, moons, and Lagrange objects.

Pluto can't do that because its orbit intersects with another planet's orbit (Neptune's) and spends most of its time surrounded by comets in the Kuiper Belt, all of which are constantly in its orbit. In case you're wondering, Neptune is still a planet because if Pluto ever got too close to it then it would either start orbiting Neptune and become a moon, get flung out of Neptune's orbit, or collide and be consumed by Neptune.

[Vetalia]

Considering February 18 is my birthday it was quite a disappointment that I could no longer note a planet was discovered on my birthday. On the upside, Qin Shi Huang shares my birthday and unifying China for the first time is a pretty big deal.

Damn, Kublai Khan, Martin Luther, Michaelangelo and Tamerlane died on that day as well. If reincarnation is a thing I might have hit the jackpot.

[Lord Dominator]

Technically, by the IAU's Standards, there are no planets in the solar system.

Further, they didn't let the planetary scientists - the people tasked to actually study planets - vote during the conference.

The Pluto Move was just political maneuvering in the astronomy community.

Source please

[Catsfern]

Pluto orbits the sun, rotates about its axis, and is a spheroid, it’s a planet. Even if it is a small one.

[Albrenia]

Pluto orbits the sun, rotates about its axis, and is a spheroid, it’s a planet. Even if it is a small one.

I don't really have much objection to that definition of 'planet', except that it would make our solar system have a hell of a lot of planets to name. There's probably a good reason for the current definition of planet though.

[Vetalia]

Pluto orbits the sun, rotates about its axis, and is a spheroid, it’s a planet. Even if it is a small one.

I don't really have much objection to that definition of 'planet', except that it would make our solar system have a hell of a lot of planets to name. There's probably a good reason for the current definition of planet though.

On the upside, Planet Nine certainly appears to be out there somewhere due to the weird orbits of TNOs. Who knows, a Neptune sized planed that far out from the Sun might have some kind of weird habitable environment deep in its atmosphere.

[HypErcApitAl]

The glorious Free State of Hypercapital recognizes Pluto as a planet, and also Luna, as some moons or other 'planet' types like Xeoplanets and so on differ in size. Some moons are bigger than other moons, and so on.

Spendingly yours, Hypercap.

[Farnhamia]

The glorious Free State of Hypercapital recognizes Pluto as a planet, and also Luna, as some moons or other 'planet' types like Xeoplanets and so on differ in size. Some moons are bigger than other moons, and so on.

Spendingly yours, Hypercap.

That's nice. NSG is OOC, always.

[Farnhamia]

I don't really have much objection to that definition of 'planet', except that it would make our solar system have a hell of a lot of planets to name. There's probably a good reason for the current definition of planet though.

On the upside, Planet Nine certainly appears to be out there somewhere due to the weird orbits of TNOs. Who knows, a Neptune sized planed that far out from the Sun might have some kind of weird habitable environment deep in its atmosphere.

So might Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune. And I proposed the definitive names for Planet 9 here: viewtopic.php?p=36741876#p36741876

[Vetalia]

So might Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune. And I proposed the definitive names for Planet 9 here: viewtopic.php?p=36741876#p36741876

Saturn and Uranus seem possible to me but Jupiter and Neptune are just too volatile it seems with the storms and insane winds. In the Jupiter system Europa is the surest bet, of course.

I personally propose Planet 9 be named Krankor, ruled by Ambassador Phantom, sworn enemy of the Prince of Space.

[Heloin]

Pluto is a dwarf planet because it hasn't cleared its orbit to the extent required by the IAU (and there are only three requirements). You could very easily look this stuff up and include some of it in the OP. The excuse that you "can't describe how wrong, vague and unscientific the 2006 definition is for that would take multiple pages" is just that, an excuse. But hey, you know better than professional astronomers and astrophysicists and telescope people, so ... sure. I'll stick with the IAU definition. Sorry, Pluto.

And how would you know if I am an astronomer or not? And what about yourself? How do you define "clearing the orbit"? The IAU makes no concrete requirements. All "dwarf planets" and dwarf planet candidates can be considered to have cleared their hill sphere. On the other hand, no planet, not even Jupiter, "cleared their orbit" so there would actually be no planets at all.

Seeing that you don't know what cleared their orbit means I think it's pretty obvious that you aren't a astronomer.

But it's not really the IAU's definition because about 4.2% of the IAU voted for the 2006 definition while other IAU astronomers were gone.

That doesn't make any sense.

[Alvecia]

Just cause it uses the same word doesn’t mean it means the same thing. Context is key.

*Sigh*

guess i really do have to explain eh.

A dwarf person still does all the things a human does but is just smaller

A dwarf planet still does all the things a planet does but smaller, and slower.

just because its a smaller version of the thing, doesn't mean its a different thing

thus "If dwarf people are still people than dwarf planets are still planets"

No, sorry, that's just not how English works I'm afraid.

[Nobel Hobos 2]

Just cause it uses the same word doesn’t mean it means the same thing. Context is key.

*Sigh*

guess i really do have to explain eh.

A dwarf person still does all the things a human does but is just smaller

A dwarf planet still does all the things a planet does but smaller, and slower.

just because its a smaller version of the thing, doesn't mean its a different thing

thus "If dwarf people are still people than dwarf planets are still planets"

That's clever but it comes down to an analogy between people and planets. Which is flawed because for ethical reasons we count a person a full person regardless of their size.

You also make an error with "slower". Smaller planets do not orbit slower, nor do they necessarily rotate slower.

[Nobel Hobos 2]

I move we reclassify all dwarf planets to minor planets to avoid personification ...

[Alvecia]

I move we reclassify all dwarf planets to minor planets to avoid personification ...

But that would imply that these planets are underage /s

[Nobel Hobos 2]

I move we reclassify all dwarf planets to minor planets to avoid personification ...

But that would imply that these planets are underage /s

We'd have to school them. Think of the cost of bussing!

Ancillary planets then.