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I'm confused by your parenthetical, as the definition that excludes Pluto (and Eris) was arrived at by the International Astronomical Union (https://www.iau.org
by scott_s 9y ago
I'm confused by your parenthetical, as the definition that excludes Pluto (and Eris) was arrived at by the International Astronomical Union (https://www.iau.org/ https://www.iau.org/).
- Robotbeat 9y agoIAU is made of astronomers (i.e. People who study stars and stuff), not so many planetary scientists (who specifically study planets).
- scott_s 9y agoI think it's fair to define planets based on an astronomical perspective; it's clear that Pluto, Eris and things like it, astronomically, belong to a different class than the other planets. Pluto is now classified as a dwarf planet. If we didn't "demote" it to a dwarf planet, then we would have to define a new term for the existing planets.
- Robotbeat 9y agoIAU is made of astronomers (i.e. People who study stars and stuff), not so many planetary scientists (who specifically study planets).