ATTENTION SCIENCE PROFESSIONALS

PLUTO is NOT a planet!?

Pluto has been demoted!  As you have undoubtedly heard by now, 424 astronomers voted on August 24, 2006 at a meeting of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in Prague to finally establish an official definition of a ‘planet’ (amazingly, none has previously existed).  This new definition states:

"A planet is a celestial body that (a) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape, and (b) is in orbit around a star, and is neither a star nor a satellite of a planet."
The new definition also includes three classifications for objects in space.  They are:

• Planets: The eight worlds from Mercury to Neptune.
• Dwarf Planets: Pluto and any other round object that "has not cleared the neighborhood around its orbit, and is not a satellite."
• Small Solar System Bodies: All other objects orbiting the Sun.

According to this new definition, Pluto is now classified as a ‘dwarf planet’ and is no longer considered to be in the same classification as the other eight planets.

PLEASE NOTE:  There remains much debate in the scientific community about the validity of this new definition and many astronomers think it is likely that this decision will be overturned or further refined.  Regardless, the official position as of August 24, 2006 will stand for the time being  – Pluto is now officially a ‘dwarf planet’, and the official count of planets in our solar system will become (temporarily) a total of 8.  It is also likely that the definition, if left as-is, will result in several additional celestial bodies being classified as ‘planets’, bringing the possible total to 12 or more.

For more information and late breaking news about Pluto, we recommend that you consult www.space.com