[Charlie]

Pluto is a moon not a planet apparently o.0

Link

[Neraphym]

Much-maligned Pluto doesn't make the grade under the new rules for a planet: "a celestial body that is in orbit around the sun, has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a ... nearly round shape, and has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit."

Pluto is automatically disqualified because its oblong orbit overlaps with Neptune's.

Why wasn't Neptune disqualified???

[Aaron]

I saw this story on the Weather Channel and on Yahoo. Instead of adding more planets, they subtracted one . Personally, I don't think Pluto should be considered a true planet, but it's going to be weird without it in there.

[Phieta]

Much-maligned Pluto doesn't make the grade under the new rules for a planet: "a celestial body that is in orbit around the sun, has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a ... nearly round shape, and has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit."

Pluto is automatically disqualified because its oblong orbit overlaps with Neptune's.

(emphasis mine)

Around "the sun"? Not just any star, but Sol specifically?

[Xemem]

In my opinion it looks like a once much larger world struck by disaster and wilddled away by the gravity of it broken off parts still trying to cling to it(what I believe charon, nix, and hydra are).

I think once we get a much closer look at all this we will find that it has many tiny objects smaller then any of its satilites swiming around it barely held in from flying off into space by its low mass... it will become apperent that it is a debree feild lightly held together in near sphereical form by the former core of a once greater world.

[Yevgeny Borisovitch Volgin]

Yes, yes. Heard that yesterday.

Pluto is a moon not a planet apparently o.0

Actually, it isn't a moon nor a planet. It's known as a dwarf planet, or minor planet.

[Goto]

In my opinion it looks like a once much larger world struck by disaster and wilddled away by the gravity of it broken off parts still trying to cling to it(what I believe charon, nix, and hydra are).

I think once we get a much closer look at all this we will find that it has many tiny objects smaller then any of its satilites swiming around it barely held in from flying off into space by its low mass... it will become apperent that it is a debree feild lightly held together in near sphereical form by the former core of a once greater world.

From what I can remember of the subject, it's much more likely to be a moon of one of the gas giants that got moved out of its orbit somehow.

[x..]

Well...It does look like a moon O.o

[Troll]

Pluto is Neptunes little brother.

[Ferret Overlord]

God this is lame... Now I'm gonna have to go to Pluto to declare it the planet of Ferretanica! *Cackle, glee, and all that good stuff*

[Nazē.]

You've been a very wonderful planet, Pluto... I'll miss you.

[Neraphym]

Mars is still the sexiest. War, fear and dread ftw!

[©allum]

The International Mnemonic Society is working overtime.

[Cspace]

I know why Pluto is no longer a planet! They want to make every astronomy textbook outdated! If that is indeed the case, I must say that it was a heck of a prank.

Why wasn't Neptune disqualified???

Neptune has a fairly normal orbit along the ecliptic. Pluto's orbit is significantly tilted and has a bit more of a difference between its aphelion and perihelion (it's more elliptical than the other planets). Its perihelion (where it is closest to the sun) is closer to the sun than Neptune's semimajor axis, and it is therefore within Neptune's orbit for a certain length of its year. This is similar to the orbits of comets.

Just a little extra to add, I believe that the tilt of Pluto's orbit makes it impossible for a collision between the two planets, err... objects. Sorry Goto, we'll need to find another way to set things right in the cosmos.

[Bespetna]

Yea, I hurd about that on the news. They educational department is still gunna count it as a plant though.