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Pluto, the ninth planet in the solar system, was demoted to the status of "dwarf planet" in August 2006 by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Since there has been a constant call from the public to "make Pluto a planet again", but now even scientists are starting to say the same thing. According to a recent study, IAU's definition of "planet" has only been used once in the last 200 years.
According to the University of Central Florida's planet scientist Philip Metzger,
"They did not say what they meant by cleaning their orbit. If you take this literally, then there are no planets, because no planet cleans its orbit.
The IAU specifies that for an astronomical body to be called a "planet", it must be spherical in shape, orbiting the Sun and clearing the neighborhood around its orbit. According to Metzger, the definition is neglected because more than 100 recent cases of scientists have used the word "planet", contrary to the definition of IAU. Thus, according to him, the reasoning also applies to Pluto.
Metzger recommends instead to classify a planet on the basis of its sufficient size so that its gravity allows it to become spherical.
"And it's not an arbitrary definition. This is an important step in the evolution of a planetary body, because apparently, when this happens, it initiates an active geology in the body. "
With this definition, Pluto would be classified as a planet because it has an underground ocean, a multilayered atmosphere, organic compounds, traces of ancient lakes as well as multiple moons.
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