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Pluto should be reclassified as a planet, according to a new study.
In an article published in the journal Icarus, Philip Metzger, a global scientist from the University of Central Florida, argues that the reason why Pluto lost its planet status is not valid.
In 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) downgraded Pluto's status to a "dwarf planet".
The AIU defines a planet as a celestial body that "has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit," which means that it must act from the greater gravitational force of its orbit.
However, the gravity of Neptune influences his neighbor Pluto. The dwarf planet also shares its orbit with frozen gases and objects in the Kuiper belt, the researchers note.
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Metzger, lead author of the study, reviewed the scientific literature of the last 200 years and found only one publication, from 1802, that used the requirement of the orbit-clearing to classify the planets. According to him, the 1802 study was based on "reasoning since refuted".
In this context, he believes that the definition of the IAU of what constitutes a planet must be rethought. "It's a neglected definition," he said in a statement. "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."
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Saturn satellites such as Saturn's Titan and Jupiter's Europe have been regularly called planets by planetary specialists since the time of Galileo, according to Metzger. "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, "he added.
The definition of a planet should be based on its intrinsic properties, said the scientist, as opposed to properties that can change, such as the dynamics of its orbit.
"The dynamics are not constant, they are constantly changing," he explained. "So, they are not the basic description of a body, they are only the occupation of a body at a present time."
Metzger recommends a classification of the planets according to whether it is large enough that its gravity allows it to become spherical.
"This is an important step in the evolution of a planetary body, because apparently, when that happens, it initiates an active geology in the body," he said.
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Pluto, he notes, has an underground ocean, a multilayered atmosphere, organic compounds, traces of ancient lakes and multiple moons.
The study was co-authored by Mark Sykes of the Planetary Science Institute; Alan Stern, Southwest Research Institute; and Kirby Runyon from Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.
IAU told Fox News that she had not yet received a formal proposal to change her definition of the planet. "There is a very clear and well known way to table motions within the IAU, which is to propose an IAU resolution through the working groups and divisions concerned. Until now, no such resolution has been proposed, "said a spokesperson by e-mail. "It is nevertheless good and healthy to discuss these topics."
Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers
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