AUGUST 2009 The MoonWalk 06

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luto's demotion to a 'dwarf planet' is a IAU declared 'A dwarf planet is not a planet'.
hotly debated issue. When Pluto was A Lowdown On Pluto’s Status But is this really a requirement? If yes, then
first discovered in 1930 by Clyde W. how do we verify this for far away planets?
Tombaugh at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff orbit, so that by gravitation it can either consume Passions were unleashed among astronomers
Arizona, it was given a them or sling them away. The and the public. It evolved into a wrestle between
planet status solely because Planet was defined in a new Earth, in comparison, has 1.7 two groups - one accepting the dynamic criterion
there was nothing bigger manner as a celestial body that: million times the mass of the that IAU used(a planet must be big enough to
than it beyond Neptune as a) is in orbit around the Sun, other objects in its orbit. clear its neighbourhood) and the other accepting
a c c u r a t e m e a s u r e m e n t B) has sufficient mass for its self- However, Pluto is only 0.07 the physical criteria(a planet must be big enough
currently gives the size of gravity to overcome rigid body times the mass of the other to pull itself into a round shape).
Pluto at 2,400 km (1,500 forces so that it assumes a objects in its orbit. Some mainstream media, comfortable quoting
miles) across. Over the last hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly Other reasons for dethroning scientific 'authorities', assumed the 'official' IAU
few decades, powerful new round) shape, and Pluto are: process was the final word. But the IAU has no
ground and space based c) has cleared the neighborhood -Pluto's orbit is inclined 17 such authority. They name objects and surface
observatories have changed around its orbit.. degrees to the plane of the features. Should they redefine categories and
the perception about the ecliptic, this is very unusual, words, especially those with widespread cultural
outer solar system. Instead of being the only -The Common Centre of and historical resonance? If
planet in their region, like the rest of the Solar gravity of our earth and is A "dwarf planet" is defined as a the IAU adopts a clearly
System, it is learnt that Pluto, along with its moon lies below the surface celestial body that : flawed definition, nobody
moons, are a part of a large number of objects of the earth, whereas the a) is in orbit around the Sun, is under any obligation to
called the Kuiper belt which extends from the same of Pluto and its B) has sufficient mass for its self- accept it.
orbit of Neptune out to 55 astronomical units (55 satellite Charon lies in space gravity to overcome rigid body forces The need of the hour is a
times the distance of the Earth to the Sun). between them –- this is so that it assumes a hydrostatic compromised definition for
Here in lies the problem. Astronomer consistently another anomaly. Moreover, equilibrium (nearly round) shape, a planet that includes both
kept finding newer objects in the Kuiper Belt and due to the newly invented C) has not cleared the neighborhood the physical and dynamical
their sizes, though small, were not very different charge couple device (CCD) around its orbit, and perspectives. The entire
from Pluto. The final nail in the coffin fell when camera, a good number of D) is not a satellite. point of definitions is clear
an object, with similar ice/rock characteristics s m a l l p l a n e t s w e r e communication, we don't
was discovered in 2005, which was bigger than discovered in the outer solar system, orbiting need one which is perfect. We just need one that
Pluto and was named Eris. The very notion of around the sun with orbital radii between 30 and doesn't fail our common senses. Even though
nine planets was challenged, and there was a 50 A.U. (AU is astronomical unit, which is the Pluto is a dwarf planet, and no longer officially a
question that should Eris be considered as a planet average distance of earth from the sun = planet, it'll still be a fascinating target for study.
or should both not be given the title of a planet. 149,603,500 km). And that's why NASA has sent their New
Pluto follows all the rules to be classified as All these factors forced the IAU to draw a clear Horizons spacecraft off to visit it. New Horizons
a planet, except an important one- it fails to clear distinction between Pluto and the other eight will reach Pluto in July 2015, and capture the first
the neighbourhood of its orbit. What does this planets. Finally the International Astronomical close-up images of the (dwarf) planet's surface.
jargon mean? It simply means that Pluto has to be Union(IAU) voted that Pluto and Eris both be
very big in comparison to other objects in its considered 'dwarf planets'. Further, in 2006, the
Giant ‘Soap Bubble’ Found Floating in Space

“Beautiful..! Thats the word

which follows the picture below.”

S trange it sounds but the photograph looking like a soap

Collision Impact Found on
Jupiter
Hubble Space Telescope took
one of the sharpest visible-light
picture of the impact spot , may
be due to a comet or asteroid, on
the surface of the giant planet
Jupiter using the Wide Field
Camera 3(WFC3).
bubble, represents a newly discovered planetary nebulae
named the “Cygnus bubble”, a rarest of rare. Its existence was
spotted on 6th July 2008 by Dave Jurasevich of the Mount Wilson Observatory,
California while recording images. The presence was also confirmed by amateur
astronomers Mel Helm and Keith Quattrocchi.
Planetary nebulae are formed when an ageing star weighing up to eight times the mass of the
sun ejects its outer layers as clouds of luminous gas. Most are elliptical, double-lobed or cigar-
shaped, evolving after stars eject gas from
each pole. But this spherical one could be
attributed to the fact that the image is looking
down the throat of a typical nebula.
The bubble whose official name is PN
G75.5+1.7 was there a while. A closer
look at images from the second
Palomar Sky Survey revealed it had
the same size and brightness 16
years ago, but was
overlooked because of
its faintness.