The Adventures of Space and Astronomy
Hey guys!
I’m Branden Murphy, a young student from a rural town in south Georgia, and today on the 6th of December I decided to branch out my excitement, my mind numbing questions , and facts to the blogging and Astronomy world! Throughout my day I sometimes think to myself the silliest questions and ponder on them for quite awhile, sometimes even days! Today I want to jump right into a very controversial question! Do you believe Pluto is a planet? Think about it and then meet me down there.
Tough question, I know… Did you say, yes? Well good! Then you are spot on. If you said no, then let me change your mind!
The background of Pluto being downgraded from a planet came in 2006 from the International Astronomical Union (IAU) due to it not following the 3 criteria based from IAU.
- The criteria consisted of It is in orbit around the Sun.
- It has sufficient mass to assume hydrostatic equilibrium (an early round shape).
- It has “cleared the neighborhood” around its orbit.
Pluto was unfortunately striked out at the 3rd criteria. Scientists believed that Pluto was not clearing its orbit out of other debris, since it technically is aligned in orbit with the kuiper belt. But to other scholars It is still classified as a planet, because they believe that just because Pluto is in orbit along with other objects and has not cleared it of orbit, should not invalidate the fact that it is a planet, especially after claiming the first 2 criteria created by IAU.
Now I ask my question… what do you think!? If you have any questions, or would like discuss something with me, message me at — https://twitter.com/SpaceyUniverses
