...Should Pluto be a Planet? In 1930 Clyde W. Tombaugh at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona discovered the planet Pluto. After serving 76 long years as the ninth planet in our solar system, Pluto was controversially demoted to a dwarf planet in 2006. This has raised many debates on whether Pluto was categorized unfairly or not. Astronomers from both sides of the debate have legitimite arguments making it tough to decide whether Pluto should be classified as a planet or a dwarf planet. Pluto’s title as a planet was questioned when Mike Brown, Professor of Planetary Astronomy at the California Institute of Technology discovered an object in 2005 that was further out than the orbit of Pluto. The object was also 25% more massive than Pluto. This object was later named Eris. It is located along with Pluto in the Kuiper Belt. There are plenty of other mysterious objects located in the Kuiper Belt that are more or less the same size as Pluto and Eris. This troubled the International Astronomical Union because this meant that there are tens to hundreds of objects that could very soon be known as planets. There are approximately more than 1,000 objects composed of the same icy mixture located in the Kuiper Belt. Many astronomers, scientists, and the International Astronomical Union felt uncomfortable with the fact that there are hundreds of objects in our solar system that have a strong possibility of becoming planets. To avoid the feeling of skepticism the International...
Words: 1349 - Pages: 6
...our solar system is whether Pluto should be classified as a planet. In 2006, Pluto was relegated from planet to dwarf planet. After a few years, the debate appeared to be settled. However, this past week when the New Horizons probe was set out to be the first spacecraft to visit Pluto new questions were raised. According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), an object is considered a planet when it meets three criteria: it has to orbit the sun, be large enough that the force of its gravity pulls it into a spherical shape, and have "cleared the neighborhood around its orbit." In theory, an object that's large enough will clear its orbit either by collecting other debris with its gravity or by surviving impacts with the debris....
Words: 954 - Pages: 4
...in 1930 when Clyde Tombaugh discovered number nine (Cowen, par. 5). The definition of a planet before the IAU, International Aeronautical Union, conference in 2006, was, "a cloud of dust and gas that, at a high enough temperature is able to fuse hydrogen nuclei into helium nuclei inside its core” (Long, par. 8). Essentially, this means planets are capable of living a full life course: forming by burning to dying by burning. As Pluto aged, it could not withstand the test of time due to the technological advances in the scientific world. In the 1930s, technology was limited. We invented refrigerators, radios, and washing machines in the ‘20s. It was unheard of in the 30’s to have technology that could decipher Pluto’s...
Words: 1007 - Pages: 5
...people know Pluto is laid right behind Neptune the last ‘planet’ behind the sun. Pluto has been around for a long time but still has interesting facts about it being discovered. The discovery of Pluto was very exciting since it was first believed to be a new planet but it was later deemed a dwarf planet. Pluto was first found in the year 1930 by a man named Clyde Tombaugh. Clyde Tombaugh was an astronomer that lived in the United states at the time when he discovered Pluto. The year Pluto was found (1930) the name also needed to be found. Clyde was actually not the person to name the dwarf planet. The namer of Pluto was not even from America but was from England. The namer of Pluto was an 11 year old girl who decided that the greek god, Hades of the underworld, was an acceptable name for the dwarf...
Words: 1583 - Pages: 7
...In the lecture “The Pluto Files” leads by Tom Hothem, he shows a video that demonstrate how Neil DeGrasse Tyson, an astronomer scientist and director of Hayden Planetarium, goes around the United States to figure out the truth about Pluto. In the film, “The Pluto Files”, he talks about how he is criticized for putting Pluto far away from the other nine planets and for making Pluto’s image tiny. Neil believes that Pluto is not a planet because he notices how Pluto is crossing Neptune’s orbit for 20 years when it is impossible for any planet to do so. From there, Neil travels to Clyde Tombaugh’s hometown, New Mexico, to see the reasons that people are outrage for Neil’s belief that Pluto is not a planet. As Neil interview people in Mexico,...
Words: 427 - Pages: 2
...The Lowell Observatory did not concentrate wholly on Mars; “his other planetary observations - of Venus, Mercury, and Saturn - were also useful.” (Bruce Bond). Consequently, Slipher came to the observatory as a temporary assistant and he made a significant discoveries which is “how to measure the expansion of the universe.” (Bruce Bond). Then, Christopher Crockett in “Pluto: Explored. (Cover Story)” said that on February 18, 1930, the astronomer Clyde Tombaugh discovered new planet. Clyde Tombaugh discovered the dwarf planet Pluto from the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff,...
Words: 1088 - Pages: 5
...Borderline Planet It is no question that the status of Pluto’s status as a planet has stirred up a lot of controversy in the past. A lot of people in these modern times grew up with acknowledging Pluto as the ninth planet. Not too long ago a critical debate was held to finally conclude on what Pluto really is. Nadia Drake, a science journalist from National Geographic provided a neutral view into the debate. Her article In a Planet-or-Not Debate, Some Astronomers Say “Long Live Planet Pluto”, which was published on September 27, 2014, discusses a little bit about what went down at the debate that was held at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center For Astrophysics. She also goes in depth on the decision that discontinued Pluto as a planet in 2006....
Words: 324 - Pages: 2
...Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of bodies beyond Neptune. It was the first Kuiper belt object to be discovered. It is the largest and second-most-massive known dwarf planet in the Solar System and the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object directly orbiting the Sun. It is the largest known trans-Neptunian object by volume but is less massive than Eris, a dwarf planet in the scattered disc. Like other Kuiper belt objects, Pluto is primarily made of ice and rock[14] and is relatively small—about one-sixth the mass of the Moon and one-third its volume. It has a moderately eccentric and inclined orbit during which it ranges from 30 to 49 astronomical units or AU (4.4–7.3 billion km) from the Sun. This means that Pluto periodically comes closer to the Sun than Neptune, but a stable orbital resonance with Neptune prevents them from colliding. In 2014, Pluto was 32.6 AU from the Sun. Light from the Sun takes about 5.5 hours to reach Pluto at its average distance (39.4 AU).[15] Pluto was discovered in 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh, and was originally considered the ninth planet from the Sun. After 1992, its status as a planet fell into question following the discovery of several objects of similar size in the Kuiper belt. In 2005, Eris, which is 27% more massive than Pluto, was discovered, which led the International Astronomical Union (IAU) to define the term "planet" formally for the first time the following year.[16]...
Words: 412 - Pages: 2
... 6-2 Is Pluto a Planet? Many people think that Pluto should not be considered a planet. There really wasn't a definition of a planet until scientsts started discussing whether or not Pluto should be a planet. The definition scientist came up with for a planet is a body of mass in space that has enough mass to have a sufficent amount of gravity to obtain a round shape, has cleared its neighborhood around its orbit, and orbits around the sun. Using the informtation from my research and information, I think that Pluto should be considered a planet. Pluto should be a planet because it follows all of the guidlines of a planet. One reason that Pluto should be a planet is that it was considered a planet until scientists starting thinking about it a came up with a definition that would classify it as a dwarf planet. There was never a clear definition of a planet until the contreversy about Pluto. Also it orbits the sun, like all of the other planets. Pluto also has enough mass to have a round shape. Although Pluto has not completely cleared its orbit, amost half of the other planets haven't completely cleared their orbit such as Earth, Neptune, and Jupiter, which would classify them as something other than a planet. Since Pluto is similar to other planets, it should be a planet. Therefore, Pluto should be considered a planet because it is round, orbits the sun, is similar to other planets, and the definition of a planet would de-classify other planets as...
Words: 265 - Pages: 2
...those objects that orbit the Sun directly, the largest eight are the planets, with the remainder being significantly smaller objects, such as dwarf planets and small Solar System bodies such as comets and asteroids. *The Planets of the Solar system and their name meanings Mercury- the messenger god Venus- god of love Earth- is the son of Gaia goddess of universe Mars- god of war Jupiter- god of lightning Saturn- god of agriculture Uranus- god of light Neptune- god of the sea Pluto- god of death Mercury is the smallest and closest to the Sun of the eight planets in the Solar System, with an orbital period of about 88 Earth days. Seen from Earth, it appears to move around its orbit in about 116 days, which is much faster than any other planet in the Solar System. It has no known natural satellites. The planet is named after the Roman deity Mercury, the messenger to the gods. Venus is the second planet from the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. It has no natural satellite. It is named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty. After the Moon, it is the brightest natural object in the night sky, reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.6, bright enough to cast shadows. Because Venus is an inferior planet from Earth, it never appears to venture far from the Sun. Earth is the third planet from the Sun, the densest planet in the Solar System, the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets, and the only astronomical object known to accommodate life. Although...
Words: 1042 - Pages: 5
...Pluto is a discovery of the early 19th century, by an astrophysicist originating in the United States. It was originally referred to as the minimal planet of the Copernican system and the ninth orbiting the Sun (May, no. pag). Currently, it is labeled the "dwarf planet" since it is a minor planet and has no capacity to remove bodies from its course. Its approximate distance from the Sun exceeds 3.6 billion miles, which is close to forty folds as it is from Earth. Pluto circles the Sun in an elliptical manner as a racecourse. Due to its oblong shape, it is at times nearer the sun though still very far. The Kuiper belt where Pluto is found has many other small bodies (May, no. pag). Pluto is approximately two-thirds measure across the moon with the probability of a rock filled center and a cloak of ice water all round. The superficial cover has advanced ice forms such as nitrogen frost and methane. As a result of its minimal solidity and area, its volume is close to a sixth of the moon's entirety. As compared to Ceres which lies in the planetoid ribbon amid Jupiter and Mars, Pluto is bigger by 14 folds. Pluto's 248-annual oval shaped rotation may allow it to reach beyond 49.3 astronomical units (AU) outside the sun which...
Words: 908 - Pages: 4
...In mid July, NASA’s New Horizons probe made its flyby of Pluto following its years-long approach, and collected a lot of amazing data--some of which is still being transmitted--to further our scientific advance and our understanding of the outer reaches of our solar system. But Pluto was only one of the sights in the New Horizons mission. Now NASA’s probe hurdles past Pluto in order to explore what lies beyond it in the Kuiper Belt. BEYOND PLUTO A recent Washington Post article detailed what New Horizons might discover next. According to the Scott Sheppard, an astronomer of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, astronomers have detected 1,500 icy bodies past Pluto, and many of these bodies could be potential planets. Most of them will probably...
Words: 473 - Pages: 2
...The Solar System is made up of all the planets that orbit our Sun. In addition to planets, the Solar System also consists of moons, comets, asteroids, minor planets, dust and gas. The inner solar system contains the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. The main asteroid belt lies between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. The planets of the outer solar system are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune (Pluto is now classified as a dwarf planet). Everything in the Solar System orbits or revolves around the Sun. The Sun contains around 98% of all the material in the Solar System. The larger an object is, the more gravity it has. Because the Sun is so large, its powerful gravity attracts all the other objects in the Solar System towards it. At the same time, these objects, which are moving very rapidly, try to fly away from the Sun, outward into the emptiness of outer space. The result of the planets trying to fly away, at the same time that the Sun is trying to pull them inward is that they become trapped half-way in between. Balanced between flying towards the Sun and escaping into space, they spend eternity orbiting around their parent star. Introduction: Humans live on a small planet in a tiny part of a vast universe. This part of the universe is called the solar system, and is dominated by a single brilliant star-the sun. The solar system is the earth’s neighborhood and the planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are the Earth’s neighbors. They all have...
Words: 1578 - Pages: 7
...Section ASTR101-0AM Overview ? Become familiar with the scale of the planets vs. their distances. ? Get an overview of the solar system. ? 50 points are possible Introduction It is easy to flip to the index of an astronomy textbook to discover that, say, the Sun lies 150 million kilometers away from Earth. It is far more difficult (if not impossible), however, to picture this distance in our mind. In this exercise, we will learn to access the often unpalatable distances encountered in astronomy by simply scaling the huge distances to more recognizable, familiar numbers. So long as every distance within the system of interest is scaled by the same factor, we retain the meaningful information about relative distances between objects. This is exactly the same principle employed by map makers, so that they can fit Texas, onto a book page. General Overview Questions: A. The definition of a planet was changed in 2006. Using your textbook and the webpage resource listed below in number 1: Discuss what the characteristics of a planet are and how this new criteria declassified Pluto. B. How do the sizes of the terrestrial planets compare to the gas giants? C. How do the sizes of all the planets compare to the Sun? Approximatley how many Earths would be required to fill the Sun? D. If the Sun were the size of a basketball: What would the comparative sizes of Earth and Jupiter be similar to? (Identify what common, round objects would be similar to Earth...
Words: 1598 - Pages: 7
...suddenly exploded. The Universe that we know was born. What has the big bang granted us? Time, space and matter all began with the Big Bang. In a fraction of a second, the Universe grew from smaller than a single atom to bigger than a galaxy. All along, the particles kept on growing at a fantastic rate and formed elements like hydrogen and helium, which formed the planets, stars and galaxies. It is still expanding today. Space and the Solar System What is the solar system? The Solar System is made up of all the planets that orbit our Sun. In addition to planets, the Solar System also consists of moons, comets, asteroids, minor planets, and dust and gas. Everything in the Solar System orbits or revolves around the Sun. The Sun contains around 98% of all the material in the Solar System. The larger an object is, the more gravity it has. Because the Sun is so large, its powerful gravity attracts all the other objects in the Solar System towards it. At the same time, these objects, which are moving very rapidly, try to fly away from the Sun, outward into the emptiness of outer space. The result of the planets trying to fly away, at the same time that the Sun is trying to pull them inward is that they become trapped half-way in between. Balanced between flying towards the Sun, and escaping into space, they spend eternity orbiting around their parent star. How did the Solar System form? As a result of the Big Bang theory, the Solar System is formed, where...
Words: 1001 - Pages: 5
