Pluto: A Planet? Essays -- essays research papers fc

underworld A major planet?Many issues have arisen from the debate whether or not Pluto is a planet. Some astronomers say that Pluto should be classified as a minor planet due to its size, physical characteristics, and otherwise(a) factors. On the other hand, some astronomers defend Plutos planet status, citing several mention features.Indeed, most of the problem is that there is no formal definition of a planet. Furthermore, it is very difficult to invent one that would allow the solar strategy to contain all nine planets. I suggest that for an tendency to be classified as a planet, it moldiness embody three characteristics. It must be in orbit around a star (thus removing the large satellites from contention), it must be too small to generate heat by nuclear fusion (so dwarf stars ar excluded) and it must be broad enough to have collapsed to a more or less orbicular shape (which excludes comets, and most of the asteroids). These criteria would admit a few of the larger as teroids and plausibly some of the Kuiper belt objects as well, but adding a requirement for a planet to have a minimum diameter of 1,000 km would annihilate the larger asteroids from contention while retaining Pluto.Below are some outline reasons as to why Pluto may not be considered a planet with my rebuttal. Pluto is small compared to the other planets.Pluto is about fractional the size of the next smallest planet, Mercury. However, there is no scientific reason whatever to pick the size of Mercury as being the size of the smallest object to be called a planet. Mercury itself is less than half the size of vitiate, and Mars is only about half the size of man or Venus. Earth and Venus are only about one-seventh the size of Jupiter. why not pick one-tenth the size of Jupiter as the size of the smallest planet, if the crosscut is dismission to be chosen arbitrarily? In that case, Mars, Mercury and Pluto would all have to be classified as asteroids. If the size-cutoff between asteroids and planets is going to be randomly chosen, the cutoff value should be agreed upon in open debate among interested scientists. Pluto is smaller than 7 moons in the solar system.Pluto is smaller than Earths Moon, Jupiters moons Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto, Saturns moon Titan, and Neptunes moon Triton. On the other hand, Pluto is larger than the other 40 known moons in the solar system. There is no scientific reason to arbitrarily dis... ...Willem J. LuytenScience, New Series, Vol. 123, zero(prenominal) 3203. (May 18, 1956), pp. 896-897.Stable URL http//links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0036-8075%2819560817%293%3A124%3A3216%3C322%3ATPP%3E2.0.CO%3B2-LThis come in is very tested. It is the Scholarly Journal Archive.2. garnerThe Planet PlutoGerard P. KuiperScience, New Series, Vol. 124, No. 3216. (Aug. 17, 1956), p. 322.Stable URL http//links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0036-8075%2819560817%293%3A124%3A3216%3C322%3ATPP%3E2.0.CO%3B2-LThis billet is very reliable. It is the Scholarl y Journal Archive.3. Research NewsPlanetary Scientists are Seeing the UnseeableRichard A. KerrScience, New Series, Vol. 235, No. 4784. (Jan. 2, 1987), pp. 29-31.Stable URL http//links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0036-8075%2819870102%293%3A235%3A4784%3C29%3APSASTU%3E2.0.CO%3B2-LThis site is very reliable. It is the Scholarly Journal Archive.4. This is a site about Pluto. http//dosxx.colorado.edu/plutohome.html It is reliable since it is a part of an established academic institution.5. This is the NASA page for Pluto. http//pds.jpl.nasa.gov/planets/welcome/pluto.htm 6. other site from NASA. http//imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/ask_astro/answers/pluto.html