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Hubble Discovers 5th Moon Orbiting Pluto [merged]


Waspie_Dwarf

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Pluto has not lost it's planetary status because of it's size. It lost it because it

All the true planets dominate their orbits. They have swept clear, or captured as satellites, almost all the material that shared their orbit. Pluto has not done this, it is just one Kuiper Belt Object amongst thousands. If it had cleared it's orbit it would still be a planet as it fulfills the other requirements. The IAU definitions of a planet and a dwarf planet are as follows:

Source: Wikipedia

http://universetoday,com/.../why-pluto-is-no-longer-a-planet/That is one factor why Pluto is no longer considered a traditional planet but size did play a roll.

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http://universetoday,com/.../why-pluto-is-no-longer-a-planet/That is one factor why Pluto is no longer considered a traditional planet but size did play a roll.

Wrong, Pluto is not classified a dwarf planet on size.

The small size of Pluto and the fact that objects as massive were being discovered lead to the debate about Pluto's status but in the agreed definitions of planet and dwarf planet Pluto's size was not a factor in it being downgraded.

From YOUR link:

Is Pluto a planet? Does it qualify? For an object to be a planet, it needs to meet these three requirements defined by the IAU:

  • It needs to be in orbit around the Sun – Yes, so maybe Pluto is a planet.
  • It needs to have enough gravity to pull itself into a spherical shape – Pluto…check
  • It needs to have “cleared the neighborhood” of its orbit – Uh oh. Here’s the rule breaker. According to this, Pluto is not a planet.

As can be clearly seen, Pluto only fails to be defined on the third point. On the second point, which is size dependant, Pluto passes. To repeat what I said earlier, if Pluto orbited alone, instead of part of a belt consisting of many objects, it would pass all thre criteria and be a planet. The same is also true of the largest body in the asteroid belt, Ceres, which was redefined as a dwarf planet (instead of an asteroid) at the same time as Pluto.

Incidentally your link doesn't work, it should be: http://www.universetoday.com/13573/why-pluto-is-no-longer-a-planet/

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And your point is?

I didn't mention Mars. Mercury & Venus still have no natural satellites. My point still remains valid.

Errr ... ummm ... my point is I can't read? Sorry.

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