Do You Still Consider Pluto To Be A Planet?

[Logwyn]

I changed my mind!

[munkeyinorbit]

I do. Always will be!

Do you also still consider the earth to be flat?

[PC2]

No it's just a shitty Kuiper belt object that doesn't deserve to be in a model of the solar system anymore than Eris.

[Egomaniac]

Don't be a Jerry:

[Mihalik]

I'll go with whatever the consensus is among astronomers. And the current consensus is that's its not. Tho it is 1 of the 2 confined dwarf planets alongside Eris.

[PC2]

I'll go with whatever the consensus is among astronomers. And the current consensus is that's its not.

Consensus never indicates correctness though, that's why reason is the best guide. So far the best reason I've seen is that a planet is different than smaller objects because it is big enough to "clear its neighboring region of other objects" and Pluto hasn't done that in the same manner as the other planets.

[Stelio Kontos]

[Forogil]

Consensus never indicates correctness though, that's why reason is the best guide. So far the best reason I've seen is that a planet is different than smaller objects because it is big enough to "clear its neighboring region of other objects" and Pluto hasn't done that like the rest of the planets.

Others find that definition bad, the most obvious objection is that Pluto in itself shows that Neptune haven't done its clearing either.

I understand it's a sensitive issue for Americans, as it's the only (dwarf-)planet partially named after an american.

[PC2]

Others find that definition bad, the most obvious objection is that Pluto in itself shows that Neptune haven't done its clearing either.

I understand it's a sensitive issue for Americans, as it's the only (dwarf-)planet partially named after an american.

Yeah I thought their criteria was lacking too. My point was that it's worthless to justify a position based on consensus because it's an appeal to popularity and authority fallacy. If the astronomy "experts" cannot give a reason that is available to an outside party then we shouldn't assume their opinion is better than anyone else's.

[Santti]

Long story short, what happened to Pluto, is the same thing that happened to the "planets" Juno, Pallas, Ceres and Vesta.

And the word planet will likely continue to evolve as we learn more about the universe.

[Raetary]

You are all wrong.

Pluto is a dog!

No it's just a shitty Kuiper belt object that doesn't deserve to be in a model of the solar system anymore than Eris.

You sound quite bitter over a random rock floating through space.

[Mihalik]

Yeah I thought their criteria was lacking too. My point was that it's worthless to justify a position based on consensus because it's an appeal to popularity and authority fallacy. If the astronomy "experts" cannot give a reason/criteria that is available to an outside party then we shouldn't assume their opinion is better than anyone else's.

As someone untrained in a scientific discipline, going with the prevailing opinion among experts is as good as you can get. That's neither an appeal to popularity or argument from authority, unless you question the notion that scientific consensus can exist. I really wish you'd stop using words you don't understand to constantly vomit obnoxious idiocy onto the forum.

The definition of a what is and isn't a planet is an arbitrary human definition, and we have an organization of experts who come up with those definitions, the current line on what is a planet is drawn at meeting 3 conditions, 1 which Pluto (among about 5ish other dwarf planets) fails to meet. If Pluto is a planet then our solar system has at least 10, possibly 14 planets, if it isn't it has 8 planets, 2 dwarf planets, up to possibly 5 but for that to be true you need to change the current definition of what a planet is, if you wish to do that you are welcome to fuck to the next IAU conference and doing your best to achieve that.

Until then you don't get a vote on what is and isn't a planet.

[callipygoustp]

What a ridiculous thread: Of course Pluto isn't a planet. He's a God!

[Cinnamilk]

It got reclassified to a dwarf planet for a reason.

By IAU standards, a planet is a planet if it meets 3 criteria:
1) It's in orbit around its star (i.e. it's not a moon)
2) It has sufficient mass to obtain hydrostatic equilibrium (It's close to spherical in shape, and not say dick-n-balls shaped)
3) It's cleared the neighborhood around its orbit (It's gravitationally dominant along its orbit, i.e. not say a Kuiper Belt or astroid belt object)

Pluto meets 1 and 2, but not 3. In other words, it's not gravitationally significant enough to be considered as a full-fledged planet.

[Forogil]

You are all wrong.

Pluto is a dog!

Pluto the dog was created in 1930 and first named Rover and renamed to Pluto in 1931 (likely after the new astronomical object)!

- - - Updated - - -

It got reclassified to a dwarf planet for a reason.

By IAU standards, a planet is a planet if it meets 3 criteria:
1) It's in orbit around its star (i.e. it's not a moon)

Actually the criteria is more geocentric - they defined objects in the solar system so the first one is simply: "It's in orbit around the Sun".

I don't know if they have a formal definition of exoplanets; especially as we cannot easily check criteria 2 and 3.

[Dezerte]

No, but I don't think it's a big deal. Whether Pluto is considered a planet or not is a question of taxonomy, i.e. how we define a planet. I think it's generally an uninteresting subject as these sorts of discussions, especially on other areas of taxonomy, only seem to cause further division and strife between us for no good reason.

[lagiacrux]

Don't be a Jerry:

well played

[Zan15]

i refuse to conceeeeeeedeeeeeeeeee

[Temp name]

Depends entirely on how you define planet. If you define it as a "kinda big-ish object orbiting the sun" then sure.
If you follow the current definition of planet which is "A "planet" is a celestial body that: (a) is in orbit around the Sun, (b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape, and (c) has cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit. " then no. It's not a planet.
Though c is a bit uhm.. Contentious though, since no object has really cleared their neighbourhood, it's fair to say that the current 8 planets all dominate their orbital neighbourhoods, and any object that inhabits the same region are either removed, or locked in because of the planets (Like Jupiter has a ton of asteroids following the same orbit, they're all only there because they formed a stable orbit with Jupiter)

[RCA]

You are all wrong.

Pluto is a dog!




You sound quite bitter over a random rock floating through space.

“Alright, alright. Mickey is a mouse, Donald is a duck and Pluto is a dog. Whats Goofy?”