Astronomers demote Pluto
Posted: Thu, Aug 24, 2006, 9:17 PM ET (0117 GMT)
Astronomers voted Thursday on a formal definition of the term "planet" that will leave the solar system with only eight such bodies, having relegated the former planet Pluto to a lesser category. Astronomers meeting at the International Astronomical Union conference in Prague approved a resolution Thursday that defines a planet as an object orbiting the Sun large enough to be "nearly round" and also having cleared the "neighborhood" around it. Objects that orbit the Sun and are round but have not cleared their neighborhood of other objects would instead be classified as "dwarf planets". The decision leaves the solar system with eight "classical" planets but demotes Pluto to the status of swarf planet, where it will be joined by several other objects. The decision is a sharp turnaround from just a week earlier, when astronomers put forth a proposal that would increase the number of planets to 12, and possibly more, by not including the neighborhood-clearing provision.
Astronomers voted Thursday on a formal definition of the term "planet" that will leave the solar system with only eight such bodies, having relegated the former planet Pluto to a lesser category. Astronomers meeting at the International Astronomical Union conference in Prague approved a resolution Thursday that defines a planet as an object orbiting the Sun large enough to be "nearly round" and also having cleared the "neighborhood" around it. Objects that orbit the Sun and are round but have not cleared their neighborhood of other objects would instead be classified as "dwarf planets". The decision leaves the solar system with eight "classical" planets but demotes Pluto to the status of swarf planet, where it will be joined by several other objects. The decision is a sharp turnaround from just a week earlier, when astronomers put forth a proposal that would increase the number of planets to 12, and possibly more, by not including the neighborhood-clearing provision.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Saturday, August 29
Trump signs order to create space-focused military academy
NBCNews.com — 5:08 am ET (0908 GMT) Trump wants some Moon object to be named after him
TASS — 5:07 am ET (0907 GMT) SpaceX to launch Starships almost every week soon — NASA
TASS — 5:07 am ET (0907 GMT) Blue Origin to build $160M space payload facility, create 6-figure salaries
Florida Today — 5:04 am ET (0904 GMT) SpaceX recovers Starship from the Indian Ocean a month after launch and is shipping it back to Texas
AP — 5:02 am ET (0902 GMT) |
