mcgillianaire: (Bedouin in Desert)
mcgillianaire ([personal profile] mcgillianaire) wrote2006-08-25 05:40 am

Pluto relegated to the underworld

The International Astronomical Union has redefined our solar system by declaring Pluto to be a dwarf planet. As a result, there are now only 8 true planets & 3 newly-created dwarf planets.

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[identity profile] pappubahry.livejournal.com 2006-08-26 11:00 pm (UTC)(link)
And Charon!?!? That's a satellite of Pluto! So does that mean Pluto is a binary dwarf planet?!
I'm not sure what the current status is, but I think it quite likely that Pluto-Charon will be considered a binary dwarf-planet system. The reason for this is that their common centre of mass is outside both planets (which is because Charon has roughly half the mass of its 'parent planet', unlike all the other moons).

[identity profile] thangkas.livejournal.com 2006-08-27 11:54 pm (UTC)(link)
Which also points even more so to the impression that it should not be called a planet. Mind you the current definition of planet as it stands now discounts Charon on this basis (as well as many others) as well.