Remember when Pluto was demoted to a dwarf planet in 2006? Well, a group of scientists is making a case for its comeback as the proper planet many of us grew up knowing.
» RELATED: Scientists discover 60 new planets, including one ‘super Earth’
Johns Hopkins University scientist Kirby Runyon and his colleagues have proposed new criteria for classifying a planet that would not only label Pluto a planet again, but would label 100 other objects in the solar system as planets, too.
According to Tech Times, the current definition of a planet — last changed by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 2006 — requires that a celestial body is in orbit around the Sun, has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome "rigid body forces" so that it retains a nearly round shape and has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit.
» RELATED: Will Pluto regain its planetary swagger? Scientists are pushing for it
Pluto was demoted because it doesn’t meet IAU’s requirement of a clear area throughout its orbit.
But according to Runyon and his colleagues, no planet has actually completely cleared its orbit. Even Earth, Mars, Jupiter and Neptune share their orbits with asteroids, according to Science Daily.
Instead, the scientists argued, the definition of a planet should focus on the body itself and not things like location.
» RELATED: Here’s what you need to know about the spring equinox 2017
Under their new proposed criteria, a planet is “a sub-stellar mass body that has never undergone nuclear fusion” with enough gravitational heft to maintain a roughly round shape, Science Daily reported.
Based on this definition, there could be nearly 110 planets in the solar system, including both Jupiter’s and Earth’s moons.
According to Science Daily, the new definition doesn't require approval from a central governing body and has already been adapted by scientists at the University of Hawaii.
About the Author
