Pluto, No Longer a Planet

We used to recognize Pluto as the ninth planet that orbits the Sun. However, when modern science redefined what planet really meant, Pluto did not pass the classification and is now considered a dwarf planet.

Initially, only Pluto’s motion across the sky was identified. Its size and distance were estimated, and then later its moon was established to be actually a co-planet. It was shown that Pluto and its co-planet are just two of several bodies in a belt of rocks at the orbit inside the solar system. So instead of declaring the new minor planet as the tenth whereas more and more planets were spotted, the International Astronomical Union found it logical to reclassify Pluto as it fails most of the criteria of being a planet.

Though it’s sad to know that I can no longer sing Pluto in the song I learned in elementary school so as to memorize the order of the planets, I think this is the epitome of what true science is all about – filtering our knowledge towards a better understanding of nature.

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