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Pluto is a planet. So are the others.
Jul. 15th, 2015 11:06 amApparently in all the foo-fraw about "Pluto is just a dwarf planet, not a 'real' planet", the IAU has apparently forgotten basic English. (They actually argued about this, because they still don't want to admit that we have more than 8 planets). "Dwarf" is an adjective modifying "planet". A "dwarf planet" is a planet, no matter what the idiots in the IAU vote.
Officially, the planets of the Solar System are:
1. Mercury
2. Venus
3. Earth-Moon double planet
4. Ceres, which has a lot of asteroids in the same orbit, too.
5. Mars
6. Jupiter
7. Saturn
8. Uranus
9. Neptune
10. Pluto-Charon double-planet
11. Haumea
12. Make-make
13. Eris
Unofficialy, we're pretty sure of several more:
14. Orcus (who let the D&D players name things?)
15. 2002 MS4
16. Salacia
17. Quaoar
18. 2007 OR10
19. Sedna
There are 5 more Trans-Neptunian Objects that are "highly likely" candidates for dwarf planet. (Up to 24 planets now...)
And researches expect that with complete exploration of the Kuiper Belt (that big asteroid belt beyond Pluto's orbit), we may find 100-200 more. Add stuff beyond the Kuiper Belt, and we're talking thousands.
When I was a kid, we had just 9 planets, and discussion of planets around other stars (exoplanets) was confined to science fiction. Welcome to the 21st century.
Officially, the planets of the Solar System are:
1. Mercury
2. Venus
3. Earth-Moon double planet
4. Ceres, which has a lot of asteroids in the same orbit, too.
5. Mars
6. Jupiter
7. Saturn
8. Uranus
9. Neptune
10. Pluto-Charon double-planet
11. Haumea
12. Make-make
13. Eris
Unofficialy, we're pretty sure of several more:
14. Orcus (who let the D&D players name things?)
15. 2002 MS4
16. Salacia
17. Quaoar
18. 2007 OR10
19. Sedna
There are 5 more Trans-Neptunian Objects that are "highly likely" candidates for dwarf planet. (Up to 24 planets now...)
And researches expect that with complete exploration of the Kuiper Belt (that big asteroid belt beyond Pluto's orbit), we may find 100-200 more. Add stuff beyond the Kuiper Belt, and we're talking thousands.
When I was a kid, we had just 9 planets, and discussion of planets around other stars (exoplanets) was confined to science fiction. Welcome to the 21st century.
