Science Video: About Pluto

Channel:

Command Line Vulpine

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7,020

Published on October 12, 2014 12:19:55 AM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lAOuOlt-_A

Game:

Plutos (1987)

Duration: 6:52

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No, Pluto is not a planet again.

False rumor guys.

A news report was taken out of context. There's just a couple people in the IAU (people who define the definition of planet) that want to bring it up to debate again - though the majority still don't want it.

The definition is:

The object must be in orbit around the Sun.
The object must be massive enough to be a sphere by its own gravitational force.
It must have cleared the neighborhood around its orbit.

It meets the first two, but not the last, there are other kuiper belt objects in it's orbital area.

Pluto can't arbitrarily be put back in. To get it back in the third rule would have to be discarded, in which case say hello to planet Ceres and about 10 other kuiper belt objects.
[Considering I think most people just want it back because of that stupid anagram, that would backfire on them as they would have to make a much longer sentence if Pluto does come back] - speaking of which you shouldn't have a need for an anagram, it's incredible easy to learn the order of the planets.

Another thing is I don't think people grasp just how small Pluto is. People hear it's the smallest planet and think that's cute but fail to understand how much smaller.

For one, consider the smallest real planet is Mercury - and there are TWO moons in the solar system bigger than Mercury(One, Titan, has a dense atmosphere and lakes and rivers of liquid methane on it's surface - if anything should be it's own planet its Titan.)

And Mercury is bigger than Pluto.

It doesn't end there, after Mercury there are 5 more moons that are bigger than Pluto, including our own moon.

Still not done pushing my point though.

Let's say we do make it a planet(alongside Eris, Makemake, Ceres, - which would be followed by several more once we can get pictures good enough to tell if other ones are round or not). Its a very slippery slope from there. Technically Pluto is a binary system with it's moon Charon. But wait, if it's a binary planet then that makes Charon a planet. Ut oh, moons can be planets now. Every moon in the solar system big enough to be self rounded becomes a planet.

Ok, think I've made my point. At any rate, no decision should be made until New Horizons gets there next year.