Pluto was demoted to dwarf planet status 18 years ago today

https://www.wral.com/story/this-day-in-space-history-pluto-demoted/21593499/

12 Comments

  1. I don’t even care about Pluto, the IAU definition just genuinely seems flawed. Evident by the fact that there are seperate definitions for planets in the solar system, rogue planets and exoplanets, instead of a taxonomy that defines planets by their properties, not their place.

  2. The council has made a decision, but given that it’s a stupid ass decision, the community has elected to ignore it.

  3. flippythemaster on

    And all the most annoying people you know are somehow still talking about it to this very day

  4. I’m not saying pissing off the Roman god of death, wealth and agriculture was a bad thing but… The last 18 years….

  5. cardboardbox25 on

    I feel like we should grant pluto planet status EXCLUSIVELY because it was the first dwarf planet, no other dwarf planet should get this

  6. I totally understand that they are trying to set definitions to classify all the different types of bodies that they are discovering with better equipment. Give Pluto special status as a double planet system. I wonder how different the earth moon system would be if the moon was a little bigger and earth a little smaller? Probably some serious tides.

  7. I prefer to sidestep the whole thing and go with “planetoid” myself, thank you very much.

  8. The only thing that annoys me about the change to Pluto’s classification is how so many people whine about it being a “demotion”.

    Even if you don’t think of it (or the Pluto-Charon system) as the largest trans-Neptunian object, largest Kuiper belt object, largest dwarf planet or whatever, it boils down to Pluto being *so* significant & important that it changed the entire classification system for the solar system.

    Pluto rules – not just the underworld, but the entire solar system!