Recent comments in /f/space
Captain_Slime t1_j570v7d wrote
Reply to comment by twurbster in Will Pluto ever be a planet? by twurbster
That's a good question and I actually don't know the answer, I hope someone who knows more can answer.
GodzlIIa t1_j570lr5 wrote
Reply to comment by rba22 in Will Pluto ever be a planet? by twurbster
Thats the difference between "would it ever be recognized as a planet again" vs "will it ever be a planet again". It was NEVER a planet based on current definitions, but it was called a planet in the past.
Is OP asking if definitions might change calling it a planet, or is op asking will it somehow fit current definitions in the future.
space-ModTeam t1_j570lod wrote
Reply to Will Pluto ever be a planet? by twurbster
Hello u/twurbster, your submission "Will Pluto ever be a planet?" has been removed from r/space because:
- Such questions should be asked in the "All space questions" thread stickied at the top of the sub.
Please read the rules in the sidebar and check r/space for duplicate submissions before posting. If you have any questions about this removal please message the r/space moderators. Thank you.
twurbster OP t1_j570kg1 wrote
Reply to comment by GiraffeWithATophat in Will Pluto ever be a planet? by twurbster
So it’s really just a cool controversial asteroid?
mikevago t1_j570ibs wrote
Reply to Will Pluto ever be a planet? by twurbster
I just wrote a kids' book about the solar system, and my take is that it's not that Pluto isn't a planet. It's that we now have so many planets we need multiple categories for them, and Pluto absolutely fits better into the "dwarf planet" category than the "rocky/inner planet" category.
menezesja t1_j570hpk wrote
Reply to Will Pluto ever be a planet? by twurbster
Since it hasn't cleared it's orbit in the last million years it probably won't do it in the next few
twurbster OP t1_j570fda wrote
Reply to comment by Captain_Slime in Will Pluto ever be a planet? by twurbster
What does that make Neptune if it cannot pull in Pluto?
[deleted] t1_j570c1y wrote
Reply to comment by rba22 in Will Pluto ever be a planet? by twurbster
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froggythefish t1_j570ard wrote
Reply to comment by alanz01 in Will Pluto ever be a planet? by twurbster
Fr, what’s wrong with having like 30 planets
drillgorg t1_j57091m wrote
Reply to comment by alanz01 in Will Pluto ever be a planet? by twurbster
We do, they're all dwarf planets!
GiraffeWithATophat t1_j5702dw wrote
Reply to Will Pluto ever be a planet? by twurbster
If we ever change our technical definition of a "planet" then it could be recognized as one again.
Regarding your second edit, you can kind of think of it that way. The moon orbits the earth like pluto orbits the sun. However for it to be called a "moon" the object needs to be orbiting something other than a star.
[deleted] t1_j56zrih wrote
Reply to comment by twurbster in Will Pluto ever be a planet? by twurbster
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GiraffeWithATophat t1_j56zfky wrote
Reply to comment by twurbster in Will Pluto ever be a planet? by twurbster
No, the other object in question is Neptune, which is much larger than pluto. Neptune would eat pluto right up.
brohamsontheright t1_j56z7bf wrote
Reply to Will Pluto ever be a planet? by twurbster
I like to think that if Pluto works and and believes in itself, it can one day become anything it wants!!!!!!
Captain_Slime t1_j56z5a1 wrote
Reply to comment by twurbster in Will Pluto ever be a planet? by twurbster
Extremely unlikely because it crosses Neptune's path.
Bawfuls t1_j56z0bn wrote
Reply to comment by twurbster in Will Pluto ever be a planet? by twurbster
I am also interested in the answer to this question
alanz01 t1_j56yxqx wrote
Reply to comment by rickny0 in Will Pluto ever be a planet? by twurbster
I would totally be on board with having more planets. Those darn astronomers!
twurbster OP t1_j56yn65 wrote
Reply to comment by rosen380 in Will Pluto ever be a planet? by twurbster
Will it ever clear it’s neighboring region of other objects?
ISeeTheFnords t1_j56ylw3 wrote
Reply to comment by rosen380 in Will Pluto ever be a planet? by twurbster
It's got a lot of work to do in regards to Neptune.
[deleted] t1_j56ykgk wrote
Reply to Will Pluto ever be a planet? by twurbster
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AduroTri t1_j56yau3 wrote
Reply to Will Pluto ever be a planet? by twurbster
It WAS a planet. But it's now a dwarf planet. Technically it can still be seen as a planet though.
rickny0 t1_j56y7nr wrote
Reply to comment by rosen380 in Will Pluto ever be a planet? by twurbster
IMO Pluto lost its status because astronomers kept discovering more Pluto-sized objects orbiting the sun and they didn’t want to add a bunch of new planets. (Eris · Ceres · Haumea · Makemake)
[deleted] t1_j56y5uo wrote
Reply to Will Pluto ever be a planet? by twurbster
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rosen380 t1_j56xlnc wrote
Reply to comment by Jorgen_Pakieto in Will Pluto ever be a planet? by twurbster
That isn't part of the reason it was "downgraded" to dwarf planet though... per the IAU these are the requirements:
- It is in orbit around the Sun.
- It has sufficient mass to assume hydrostatic equilibrium (a nearly round shape).
- It has “cleared the neighborhood” around its orbit.
Pluto meets the first two, just not the third.
Dahnlor t1_j5716jp wrote
Reply to comment by rickny0 in Will Pluto ever be a planet? by twurbster
Nitpick: Ceres is in the Asteroid Belt and was discovered in 1801. Its discovery was not unlike that of Pluto, and it was considered to be a planet until after several other asteroids were discovered.
Pluto's discovery and eventual recategorization was pretty much the same situation, except that every new Kuiper Belt Object wasn't being counted as another new planet. When Eris was discovered, which is larger than Pluto, it forced the IAU's hand in creating an actual definition for "planet".