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[–] 79 points 2 years ago (7 children)

Pluto will always be a planet to me, and you'll pry that definition from my cold, dead hands!

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  • [–] 48 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    Stay strong. A dwarf planet is a perfectly valid kind of planet, don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

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  • [–] 30 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    It's not the size that counts but the ability to clear your orbit. ;)

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago (1 child)
  • [–] 10 points 2 years ago* (1 child)

    Good question! I had forgotten about Jupiter's Trojans and Greek asteroids!

    I went and checked the definiton of Clearing the Neighborhood by IAU, emphasis mine:

    The phrase refers to an orbiting body (a planet or protoplanet) "sweeping out" its orbital region over time, by gravitationally interacting with smaller bodies nearby. Over many orbital cycles, a large body will tend to cause small bodies either to accrete with it, or to be disturbed to another orbit, or to be captured either as a satellite or into a resonant orbit. As a consequence it does not then share its orbital region with other bodies of significant size, except for its own satellites, or other bodies governed by its own gravitational influence. This latter restriction excludes objects whose orbits may cross but that will never collide with each other due to orbital resonance, such as Jupiter and its trojans, Earth and 3753 Cruithne, or Neptune and the plutinos.[3] As to the extent of orbit clearing required, Jean-Luc Margot emphasises "a planet can never completely clear its orbital zone, because gravitational and radiative forces continually perturb the orbits of asteroids and comets into planet-crossing orbits" and states that the IAU did not intend the impossible standard of impeccable orbit clearing.[2]

    Trojans and Greeks orbit Jupiter's LaGrange points in a stable orbit and so they are governed by Jupiter's gravity. You could say they're really weird moons orbiting semi-stable points Jupiter creates.

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  • [–] -4 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    this condition makes "planetness" into a local condition. so theoretically, we can throw enough junk into space and stop anything we want from being a planet.

    pluto just got unlucky in terms of the amount of trash it has in its way. its not fair :(

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  • [–] 23 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    No, because if it's a proper planet it will clear its orbit.

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  • [+] 4 points 2 years ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)
  • [–] 34 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Arenyou gonna start calling Ceres, Haumea, Makemake, and Orcus planets?

    We went through this 150 years ago ehen the asteroid belt was discovered. Every astronomer wanted credit for discovering a new planet, so at one point there were 15 before all the astronomers got together and said it was untenable.

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  • [+] 34 points 2 years ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)
  • [–] 14 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    So Neptune has a rogue rock in its orbit that also orbits the sun and we're just gonna give Neptune a pass on that one because we saw it first.

    At best, this is size discrimination, and neptunotism, and we both know it!

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  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    A dwarf planet is a type of planet, right?

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