Jakarta, Borneo24.com – An astronomical object must meet a number of criteria in order to be called a planet. The criteria are orbiting a star that is large enough to have its own gravity, not too large to create thermonuclear fusion, and has “cleared” the environment around its orbit. There are eight planets in the solar system, namely Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
Previously, Pluto was classified as a planet so there are nine planets in the solar system. However, since 2006, The International Astronomy Union (IAU) no longer refers to Pluto as a planet.
Reporting from NASA, Pluto is no longer called a planet because it has not “cleaned” its orbital environment of other objects.
However, Pluto meets the IAU’s criteria for classification as a dwarf planet. According to the IAU, a dwarf planet is a celestial body that orbits the Sun directly so that its shape is controlled by the force of gravity, but has not “cleared” its orbital environment of other objects. So, what is meant by not “cleaning” its orbital environment of other objects? Reporting from the Library of Congress, September 19, 2019, the criteria mean the planet must become gravitationally dominant so that there is no other object of comparable size, other than its own satellite or the object under its gravity, in the vicinity of its orbital space.
In this case, Pluto shares an orbital environment with Kuiper belt objects such as plutino. So, any celestial body that does not meet these criteria, will not be called a planet and will be classified as a dwarf planet, including Pluto.
History of Pluto
Pluto was discovered on February 18, 1930 at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, by astronomer Clyde W. Tombaugh with contributions from William H. Pickering. By 1915, the observatory had captured two blurry images of Pluto that were then unrecognizable. Actually, this is not the first portrait of Pluto. There are 16 known pre-discoveries and the oldest was made by the Yerkes Observatory in 1909. At that time, the discovery of Pluto made headlines around the world.
Lowell Observatory also has the right to name the newly discovered celestial body. The Lowell Observatory received more than 1,000 name suggestions from around the world, including from Venetia Burney, an 11-year-old student in Oxford, England, who proposed the name “Pluto”. According to Venetia who was interested in astronomy and classical mythology, the name God of the Underworld was suitable for a dark and cold celestial body. Venetia suggested the name “Pluto” to her grandfather, Falconer Madan, a former librarian at the Bodleain Library, University of Oxford.
Madan conveyed the suggestion to Professor Herbert Hall Turner who then sent it to his colleagues in the United States. Finally, the name Pluto was officially adopted on March 24, 1930 and announced on May 1, 1930. Venetia as a proponent also received £5 as a prize.
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