The International Astronomical Union decidedIAU) that Pluto was no longer a planet on August 24, 2006, as Pluto is now officially classified as a dwarf planet along with four other confirmed dwarf planets in the Solar System.
According to the website,SpaceAmerican, pro astronomers debated changing Pluto’s planetary status, because a planet by definition must have a clear orbit around the Sun, and Pluto and the more distant dwarf planets failed to meet this criterion.
And if Pluto retains its planetary status, those dwarf planets will also need to be classified as planets.
As astronomers continue to debate this new definition, the public has come together to argue that Pluto is a planet on other grounds, related to whether it meets two of the three criteria for being a planet.
It is worth noting that Pluto is two-thirds the size of the Earth’s moon, and was first discovered in 1930, and a competition was held to choose the name of the new planet at the time, and an 11-year-old girl who chose the name “Pluto” won it.
On: 2022-08-24