What is a planet? Where do we draw the line?

Im not sure, but I, for one, long for Pluto to be

reclassified as a planet, just as Earth, just as Mercury and all other small heavenly bodies. Maybe
this stems from childhood nostalgia when Pluto WAS includedand all was well in the solar
system.
This week, for the first time, the NASAs New Horizons Probe flew by Pluto, awakening a debate
on the planet/dwarf planet argument.
The truth is, Pluto may be a dwarf planet as long as the current rules apply this may never
change. For instance, Pluto is much closer in size to other dwarf planets like Makemake and Eris.
This is the surface argument by the IAU. There are other rules, however, more pressing factors,
and these factors seem to point to contrasting beliefs and facts.
The three rules to becoming a planet
In 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) decided to reclassify Pluto as a dwarf planet,
on three terms: the object must orbit the Sun, the neighborhood of its orbit must be cleared of
debris and it must be large enough that the force of its orbit has pulled the object into a round
shape. Pluto failed on one aspect its neighborhood is not clear of debris being surrounded by
ice and rock in the Kuiper belt. Here are the popular arguments in favor of Pluto as a planet.
Included are the facts as well!
1. The size factor
So Pluto is small, but so is the Earth. At least in comparison with giants like Jupiter. If you paid
attention to the mass of Earth and the mass of Jupiter, and then the mass of Pluto as opposed to
the mass of Earth, you would be able to see an interesting comparison. The size of Earth
compared to the size of Jupiter is very like the size difference between Pluto and Earth. So, how
can we honestly use this as an indication? Who says how big we have to be in order to be part of
the group? Sounds like unfair judgment to me! Size shouldnt matter, remember But I get it, we
have to draw the line somewhere.
2. The unique factor
Pluto is in the Kuiper belt, I know. But its different than those other ice chunks and rocks. Pluto,
Ceres, Eris and other dwarf planets are large enough for gravity to pull them into nicely formed
round shapes. Pluto is also orbited by five moons, has a rocky core surrounded by an ice mantle
and a thin atmosphere. With this being said, Pluto has more in common with planets in our solar
system than objects in the Kuiper belt. To me, this is enough to include her into our group.
3. Position in Kuiper Belt
Because Pluto is part of the various ice and chunks of rock in the Kuiper belt, its considered a
non-planet. According to the IAU, Pluto has not cleared its neighborhood. A funny thing about
that is, the Earth gets hit with just as many asteroids and comets as Pluto. Whats the difference?
Just like Ceres, now classified as a dwarf, was once considered a planet when discovered in the
1800s, Pluto has been reclassified by its neighbors. I guess this makes sense as a disqualifying
factor or does it.
New Rules?
Phillip Metzger, planetary scientist at the University of Central Florida says,
If we can move Pluto to another position, it could become a planet.
David Aguilar of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics says in contrast,
If we can adjust the definition of planet, just slightly, then Pluto can be included in our solar
system.
This idea seems feasible and can be simplified. There are two types of planets: gas and rocky.
Why not have a third type called dwarf planets, included into the larger scope of things. Now,
that seems like a quick fix.
Are we going to keep flying by, staring at the beauty of Pluto while denying her right to be a
planet of our solar system? Maybe we will and maybe, as of August 2015, we will have a change
of heart, so to speak. We will soon know, and as for me, Im rooting for Pluto and planet status!
To heck with that dwarf planet classification. Tis the time for equality, right!
8 reasons Pluto should totally have planet status (pictures)
Scientists have demoted it to a dwarf. The nerve! If you're still dead set on calling Pluto one of
the nine planets, here are the reasons why that's perfectly reasonable.
Say that to his face
Pluto, that distant heavenly body, is on every Earthling's lips this week, thanks to new pictures
sent by the New Horizons spacecraft. And with those images, and old wound has been opened:
The demoting of Pluto from "planet" to "dwarf planet" status in 2006.
Plenty of folks still count Pluto as a planet. And they have their reasons. For starters, New
Horizons has confirmed that Pluto has mountains and water. The International Astronomical
Union doesn't consider such traits when deciding what makes a planet ... but, given that a
certain third rock from the sun also has mountains and water, maybe it should reconsider.
Here are even more reasons to count Pluto among the Big Nine ...
TWENTY REASONS WHY PLUTO SHOULD STILL BE A PLANET Demoting Pluto is unfair. The
new definition of planet relies on information (mass, shape) that was not and could not be known
in the 1930s. The new definition requires that a planet be round. Heck. Is even the Earth really
round? Dont judge Pluto by the company it keeps. The new definition requires that a planet

gravitationally clear its orbit. What about Trojan asteroids at Jupiter? What about NEARs at Earth?
What about dust? That rule could reduce the number of planets to zero! The new rule is circular,
anyway. (No pun intended.) If an object really is massive enough to clear its orbit, its going to
be self-compressed round. And the playing field is not level. A bodys difficulty in clearing its
orbit (really, the volume that it must clear) increases as a function of its distance from the Sun.
Clearing is most difficult for Pluto, the furthest planet. Pluto is a product of a poor
neighborhood. If Mars, like Pluto, lived in a cluttered region such as the Kuiper Belt, it would no
longer be considered a planet. Instead, Mars was brought up at a ritzy address. Its got massive
Jupiter nearby to help clean up its orbit. Sure. Let the butler do it for you! This upstart body
called Eris (now known to be bigger than Pluto) has an orbit highly inclined to the ecliptic.
Theres not much to clear up there. No heavy lifting. If worlds were drafted back when Pluto was
discovered, Eris would have gotten the National Guard. The new planet definition is time
dependent. We need to know the history of a body before we can assign its status. The waiting
line for a planetary passport is a billion-years long! We usually dont define things based on their
location. We have star clusters not cluster stars. The new planet definition was not chosen
through a transparent process. Despite the best efforts of the committee and its chairman, the
story gives the impression that science is done in the backroom. The International Astronomical
Union planet definition vote was botched. Yes, it was even worse than Bush vs. Gore in 2000. By
the way, whats with that substitute dwarf planet thing? You mean a dwarf planet is not a
planet? Wheres a linguist when we need one? The new planet definition might affect Pluto
research funding. Would the recently launched space probe to Pluto have made it off the ground
today? Would Congress fund a mission to a dismissed planet? The word dwarf has negative
connotations, at least among the public at large. Between Pluto and dwarfs, theres just too
much Disney floating around We are in danger of convincing people that scientific classification is
real, and not a human construct. Hey, Pluto-discoverer Clyde Tombaughs story is too good to
throw away. Can Michael Brown build a telescope out of a Model T Ford? (Well, to be honest,
maybe he can . . .) Kids like Pluto. It sounds cuter than Uranus. Worse, some think Pluto has
disappeared! These future taxpayers (and astronomers) will vote with their feetor rather their
toys, coloring books, and songs. We might as well rename Santas reindeer . . . The word planet
is in popular usagehas been for millennia. Can astronomers hijack a word? Sounds pretty
snooty to me. Even if defining Pluto is capricious, whats wrong with a capricious definition?
Astronomy already has such nonsensical items as planetary nebulae, the Large Magellanic Cloud,
and asteroids (which arent very aster at all). Deal with it.
5 reasons why it should be considered a planet:
-It has enough gravity to have shaped itself into a sphere.
-It has an orbit around the sun.
-It has at least five moons.
-It has an atmosphere.
-It orbits nothing besides the sun.
I can only think of two reasons why it should not be considered a planet:
-It is not the only object in it's orbit.
-If we reclassified Pluto as a "Planet" then we would probably have to reclassify other "Dwarf
Planets" like Eris as Planets.
Pro-Pluto arguments that are wrong:
1. Atmosphere: A number of the Jovian moons as well as Saturn's moon, Titan, have atmosphere.
Mercury, which everyone agrees is a planet, does not have an atmosphere. This is not a good
dichotomy for discerning planethood.
2. Gravitationally rounded and achieving hydrostatic equilibrium: Several asteroids in the
asteroid belt as well as plenty of discovered and undiscovered objects in the Kuiper belt are large
enough to be gravitationally rounded. So are many, many moons as well as the Sun.
1. It orbits the Sun
2. It is massive enough to be gravitationally rounded
3. It is in hydrostatic equilibrium
4. It has an atmosphere
5. It has many moons
I'm well aware the world's scientists have come to a general consensus that Pluto is no more.
Sure, the dwarf planet didn't head into a black hole or anything. (If that were the case, Earth
would be in a bit of trouble, too.) It just didn't make the cut to be considered an actual planet.
But with Wednesday's announcement that a team of Caltech scientists published new evidence
for the existence of a ninth planet, the time is ripe for questioning why Pluto got voted off the
island in the first place. Here are seven reasons why Pluto is the solar system's ninth planet or
should be, if only for sheer sentimentality.
First, a disclaimer: I can't call the International Astronomical Union's criteria for categorizing
planets anything but legitimate. I get it; Pluto failed to clear the neighborhood around its orbit.
(Well, actually, I don't really get that. However, I'm working under the assumption that the IAU
has its reason for using this criterion.) The list that follows is merely an attempt to restore some

small semblance of dignity to all those who went on for years believing Pluto was exactly what
the textbooks said it was.

BALANGKAS NG PAGSUSURI
1 Panimulaa.
Pamagat ng Katha Saranggolab.
May akda Efren R. Abuegc.Sanggunian o aklat na pinagkunan Libro
2 Buod ng KathaMay isang batang lalaki, walong taong gulang na anak ng may-ari na kaisa-isang estasyon
ng gasoline atmachine shop sa bayan. Ang batang lalaki ay humiling ng isang guryon sa kanyang ama. Ngunit
masmainam ang saranggola sabi ng kanyang am. Ibinili siya ng papel at kawayan at tinuruang gumawa
atmagpalipad ng saranggola ang anak. Nang mapalipat na niya ang saranggola nalampasan niya ang
ilangguryon at ang ibang naming guryon na lumipad ng pagkataas taas ay nalagutan ng tali at
nagsibagsak,bali-bali ang mga tadyang, wasak-wasak.kaya tandaan na ang taas at tagal ng pagpapalipad
ngsaranggola ay nasa husay, ingat at tiyaga. Nakalimutan na ng bata iyon tungkol sa saranggola nangmaging
katorse anyos na siya. May iba na siynag hilig: damit, sapatos, malaking baon sa iskwela,pagsama-sama sa
mga kaibigan. Ngunit ang magulang niya ay lagi siyang tinitipid sa lahat ng bagay.Nagkaroon siya ng
hinanakit sa kanyang magulang ng maging labing walo na siya. Napagkaisahan ngkanyang mga kabarkada na
kumuha ng commerce at samasama sila sa isang unibersidad mungkahi ngisa sa limang magkakaibigan.
Ngunit tumutol ang kanyang ama mas nararapat na kunin niya ayengineering dahil sa may machine shop sila
at balaw araw siya ang magmamana nito. At ito ay angkanyang ama at napilitan siyang tumiwalag sa
kanyang barkada. At napag-isa siya sa pag-aaral salungsod at ngayong binata na siya hindi na hinanakit
kundi panghihimagsik sa ama ang kanyangnadarama. Nang makatapos siya sa pag-aaral binigyan siya ng
sampung libong piso bilang puhunan niya.Siya ay nagtayo ng machine shop sa dulo ng kanilang bayan at ito
ay nalugi dahil sa kakompitensya silang kanyang ama. Bumalik ito sa kanyang ama para humingi ng pera
ngunit hindi na ulit siya binigyan.Siya ay naghimagsik at naglayas. Naghanap siya ng trabaho makalipas ang
ilang taon nakaipon siya ngpuhunan at nagtayo uli ng machine shop at pagkalipas ng tatlong taon ito ay
nakilala na at ang pangarapng kanyang ama para sa kanya ay natupad na.
3. Pagsusuria.
A.Uri ng pampanitikan - Ito ay isang uri ng maikling kwentob.
Estilo ng paglalahad - daloy ng isipan
c. Mga Tayutaya.Pagtatanong Makabubuti bas a akin ang magmukhang basahan at magdildil
ng asin?
b. Pagtanggi - Hindi sa kinakampihan ko ang iyong ama Pero sa tingin ko engineering nga ang
bagay saiyo.
2. Pagtatanong - ang pagpapahayag na ito ay ginagamit upang taggapin o di tanggapin ang
isang bagayPagtanggi - ang pagpapahayag na ito ay karaniwang ginagamitan ng panangging
hindi upang bigyangdiin ang makabuluhan ang sang-ayon sa sinasabi.
D. Sariling ReaksyonMga Panain at puna sa:A.
Tauhan - ang batang lalaki sa nabanggit ditto sa maikling kwento ay isang masunuring bata
atang amat ina ay hinangatna mapabuti ang kanilang anak/B.
Istilo ng awtor - ito ay para mapukaw an gating isipan na hindi salapi at kapangyarihan
angmahalaga kundi edukasyon sa ating tatahakin, katatagan at mabuting asal ito ang
pinakamatibayna patnubay upang marating natin ang patutunguhan.C.
Galaw ng mga pangyayari Upang mapaunlad natin an gating mga sarili.