Pluto a planet again?

Katie Mazanec
Staff Writer

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) discussed Pluto’s status as a planet on September 18.  The celestial snowball is nearly 7.4 billion kilometers from the sun, making it a rather large mass of ice and dust. Pluto was considered to become a planet again when it was discussed by the IAU and officially failed the formalized definition of a planet. If an object orbits the sun, has sufficient mass and self-gravity to maintain a nearly round shape, and is not surrounded by objects similar in size and characteristics then it can be considered a planet. If a certain planetary-mass object did not meet all the requirements to become a planet, it is considered a dwarf planet.

Since early 2006, Pluto has not been considered a planet due to the numerous bodies of mass similar to Pluto’s also orbiting the sun. Astronomers believed that once they found an object the size of Pluto or larger they would have to add it to our list of nine planets. Also, astronomers noticed that Pluto did not have the same characteristics as the Jovian planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune) it instead acted like a giant asteroid that was orbiting the sun.

Since many other astronomers believe that Pluto is a planet, they are relying on the data from the New Horizons probe. New Horizons was sent early in 2006 to perform a flyby past Pluto in an attempt to take detailed measurements and images of Pluto and its moons. It is projected to pass Pluto by early July 2015. Data and images will be collected and will help make the official determination for Pluto as a planet. As for now Pluto is still a dwarf planet.