[ad_1]
GETTY
Incredible: Pluto weighs above its weight with water and organic compounds essential for life
(Pic: GETTY)
The definition that demoted Pluto is "neglected," according to global researcher Philip Metzger of the University of Central Florida.
In 2006, the International Astronomical Union defined a planet as an object that:
• the orbits of the sun
• has enough mass to be round
• Is not it a satellite (moon) of another object
• Eliminated debris from the area around its orbit (ie the largest gravitational field in its orbit)
"It's more vibrant and alive than Mars"
Global scientist Philip Metzger
This last criterion saw Pluto being reclassified into a dwarf planet because it is surrounded by objects that together have a larger mass.
But pro-Pluton expert Metzger discovered that scientists who have been studying our solar system for 200 years have not used clearance as a definition – because it's useless.
"The definition of AIU would say that the fundamental object of planetary science, the planet, is supposed to be defined on the basis of a concept that no one uses in its research", said Metzger.
"And that would leave out the second most complex and interesting planet in our solar system."
GETTY
SCALE: Our solar system with the little Pluto on the far right
(Pic: GETTY)
"We now have a list of more than 100 recent examples of planetary scientists using the word planet in a way that violates the definition of IAU, but they do so because it is useful on the planet. functional plan.
"It's a neglected definition." They did not say what they meant by cleaning their orbit.
"If you take that literally, then there are no planets, because no planet is in orbit," he told Astromart.
For example, many debris and satellites gravitate around the Earth.
Metzler thinks that planets should be defined simply as an object with enough mass and therefore gravity to be round.
GETTY
STUNNING: Pluto seen from the surface of its moon Charon
(Pic: GETTY)
He said that this definition is important because when something in space is big enough to be spherical, it triggers an "active geology".
For example, Pluto has an underground ocean, a complex atmosphere, moons, possible lakes, and organic compounds (the building blocks of all life).
"It's more vibrant and alive than Mars," Metzger said. "The only planet that has a more complex geology is the Earth."
The reclassification of planetary asteroids to non-planets by Philip T. Metzger, Mark V. Sykes, Alan Stern and Kirby Runyon was published in the journal Icarus on 29 August.
Source link
