Image via PhysicsWorld.comPluto has dropped further down the astonomy food chain. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has decided that Pluto, along with other dwarf planets in the solar system, will now be classified as "plutoids". To be a "plutoid", a dwarf planet must also be orbiting at a greater distance than Neptune. Some critics believe that the new reclassification is not robust enough. Alan Stern, lead investigator for NASA’s New Horizons mission to Pluto, has already mocked the new "plutoid" definition. The president of the IAU does not believe there will be a big reaction, overall, within the astronomy community to the reclassification, however.
1 comment:
I was so upset that pluto is no longer a planet. Thanks for posting this because it is important!
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