Sep 10
The Tweens News | English
Don’t forget Pluto! Sure it may not be officially recognized as a planet anymore but it’s still there and offers a lot of interesting facts and information.
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Pluto was the last and littlest planet in our solar system, now it is not even officially recognized as a planet!
- Because it is so far away from the sun it is very cold with temperatures ranging form -235 Degrees Celsius to -210 Degrees Celsius.
- Pluto consists of rock with a very thick coating of ice.
- The atmosphere of Pluto consists of nitrogen with some carbon monoxide and methane.
Source: http://sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/planets/pluto.html
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Good for your for including Pluto. Actually, Pluto IS still recognized as a planet by many scientists. . Only four percent of the IAU voted on the controversial demotion, and most are not planetary scientists. Their decision was immediately opposed in a formal petition by hundreds of professional astronomers led by Dr. Alan Stern, Principal Investigator of NASA’s New Horizons mission to Pluto. One reason the IAU definition makes no sense is it says dwarf planets are not planets at all! That is like saying a grizzly bear is not a bear, and it is inconsistent with the use of the term “dwarf” in astronomy, where dwarf stars are still stars, and dwarf galaxies are still galaxies. Also, the IAU definition classifies objects solely by where they are while ignoring what they are. If Earth were in Pluto’s orbit, according to the IAU definition, it would not be a planet either. A definition that takes the same object and makes it a planet in one location and not a planet in another is essentially useless. Pluto is a planet because it is spherical, meaning it is large enough to be pulled into a round shape by its own gravity–a state known as hydrostatic equilibrium and characteristic of planets, not of shapeless asteroids held together by chemical bonds. These reasons are why many astronomers, lay people, and educators are either ignoring the demotion entirely or working to get it overturned.