To keep its planetary status along with Earth, Saturn, and the rest, Pluto needed to pass three tests. This is the one it failed. (via PopSci)
The astronomers who make up the IAU faced a hard choice: label all the new objects and hundreds of future objects as planets, or pick a narrow definition that would save the deeper meaning of the title. They picked the second option. A couple hundred scientists voted to demote Pluto and named it the first of a new group of worlds: the dwarf planets.When the IAU officially defined the word “planet” for the first time, Pluto didn’t fit.
Pluto passes the first test with flying colors, making one loop around the sun every 248 years. Things that fail this test include objects that circle other bodies, likeThe second test posed no problem either. Smaller asteroids can have funky shapes. Itokawa, for example, looks like. But once an object gets big enough, the force of its gravity pulls down any parts that stick out too far, creating a round shape. Pluto is big enough to be round.
The real challenge to the ex-planet was the third test, which gets to the heart of what many astronomers think of when they hear the word “planet.” From Mercury to Neptune, and yes, even Pluto, most planets get their names from Roman gods. As such, we expect them to be masters of their domain. The solar system is full grains of sand, massive gas giants, and many, many objects in between. Having so many objects of different sizes whizzing around the sun gets pretty messy.
Pluto is different. If you look at the solar system overall, it lies somewhere between an asteroid and a planet. No nearby object threatens to kick it away, as far as astronomers know. But now that researchers understand more about its environment, it just doesn’t look that special anymore.
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