Can we reinstate Pluto as a planet?

Everyone has the right to their opinion on any topic.

The International Astronomical Union (the organization which determines naming and categorizing objects in space) meets 2009 August in Rio.

Feel free to voice your concerns to this body.

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In the 1930s there were 28 planets. This was until the term asteroid was coined.

It is a natural and respectable practice of all branches of science to define and categorize objects for a better understanding of comparing them.

When Pluto was discovered, there was a political race between France and Britain to find the famed planet x which supposedly influenced Neptune's orbit. Pluto was rushed into planetary status before anything was known about it. Because it is a Kuiper object, it is composed of icy rock. This makes it appear larger than it actually is due to reflectivity of sunlight.

With what we know today about Pluto, if it were discovered today, it would never ever be categorized as a planet.

This concept of classification is no different than geologists classifying rocks instead of putting them all into a group called 'rock'. It is the same process as archeologists calling us homo sapien sapiens instead of placing all of the various living and extinct species that branched off of the erectus tree as 'man'. Exactly the same as frogs. There are 5200 different varieties.

It's the process that makes you choose either a snickers or baby ruth when you go to the grocery store instead of telling the person at the counter that you want a candy bar.

There must come a time when not everything that revolves around the Sun is called a planet.

In 2006, the IAU made that decision with careful thought and deliberation.

If you can propose a definition of what a planet is and should be (other than saying "It used to be called a planet" then by all means let your voice be heard and start signed petitions. This should be addressed to the IAU. Your government representatives have no say in this matter.

But let's show some dignity and respect towards the people of the 1930s who did not cry when our Solar System no longer had 28 planets.

oklatonola you do more harm than good. Do you really think that there is just one guy at the International Astronomical Union (IAU) that made this decision? Let me tell you how it works, somebody in the organization put forward a motion to change the status of Pluto, it was discussed and debated, and then there was a vote and hundreds of astronomers cast their ballots. So, "waiting until the top guy retires or steps down" is just nonsense. By the way, Pluto is not considered and has never been considered a minor planet, the asteroids used to be referred to as minor planets and the last time I checked, Pluto was not part of the asteroid belt. Pluto is now considered to be a dwarf planet and that is simply not the same as a minor planet. Also, what the heck is the I.A.U.U., you would think that you would know that it is called the IAU, after all you have read over 360 issues of Astronomy Magazine.

In case you didn't realize it, that orange "Top Contributor" badge under your name makes people think that you know what you're talking about. It sort of gives you great power, but you seem to forget that with great power comes great responsibility. Have you consumed a few glasses of burgundy tonight?

I bet you are starting to wish that you didn't attack me via email last night, eh? I've spent some time today reading all about you on the Internet and I've noticed that you complain that lots of people attack you in public forums. Based on how you attacked me last night, via email, after I sent you a simple message trying to explain (in a nice manner) what another person was trying to state in their question, I am not at all surprised that so many people attack you because I'm absolutely certain you initiate it. You seem to be a real wing-nut and are obviously provoked by the slightest little thing. I mean come on, all I was trying to do was to explain to you what somebody else was trying to state in their question, but you took it as an attack and attacked me back. I'm not going to stand for that and so today its all about payback. However, if you send me an apology for your email attack in which you doubted my credentials as an astronomer, I'll be sure to stop my now public counter-attack on you. By the way, for a geologist you seem to have a lot of time on your hands. Are you unemployed? You certainly can not be retired, as you are only 56 years and 2 days old.

Why is it a big deal. It is a dwarf planet. This classification states that bodies large enough to have cleared the neighbourhood of their orbit are defined as planets, while those that are not massive enough to be rounded by their own gravity are defined as small solar system bodies. Dwarf planets come in between.

In the 1990s, astronomers began finding other objects at least as far away as Pluto, now known as Kuiper Belt Objects, or KBOs.[2] Many of these shared some of Pluto's key orbital characteristics and are now called plutinos. Pluto came to be seen as the largest member of a new class of objects, and some astronomers stopped referring to Pluto as a planet.[3] Pluto's eccentric and inclined orbit, while very unusual for a planet, fits in well with the other KBOs

Four years ago we sent out a satelite to investigate Pluto to see if we were right in calling it an asteroid. In five more years it should reach Pluto.

So...until then, we'll just have to wait for the study. They have some pretty good reasons to say it isn't a planet so, if we want it to come back, all we can do is hope the satellite finds something special.

Pluto should never have been called a planet in the first place. Its orbit is highly inclined to the plane of the ecliptic and highly eccentric to boot, and it's smaller than many moons in the solar system. Astronomers always considered it an escaped moon of Neptune or something similar, it was only a "planet" because of early 20th century politics/publicity seeking on the part of the astronomers of he time.

Pluto isn't a planet and never was, there's nothing to fix. The solar system has eight planets, end of story. :)

You can move to New Mexico, legislature was passed saying that in that state legally Pluto is still a planet. It's because the guy that discovered it or something like that was from New Mexico.

A minor planet is still, technically, a "planet".

You're going to have to wait until the top guy of the I.A.U.U. retires or steps-down.

Yes, but the IAU, who made the official decision, are not the brightest people.