Is Pluto Really a Planet or is it Something Else?

The International Astronomical Union determined that Pluto is merely a dwarf planet and should not be considered one of the planets in our Solar System. But why did it take 76 years to finally determine the truth about Pluto?

The International Astronomical Union finally decided that Pluto should not be considered a planet. Although controversy continues to exists with IAU's decision, under the new definition, Pluto falls short of being a planet. To be a "planet," a celestial body must orbit around the Sun and have a nearly round shape. Pluto passes both of these tests, but it fails the third one, which is "clearing the neighborhood around its orbit."

Although the phrase is rather ambiguous, it is believed to mean that the planet should have mass dominance within the area around it. Due to Pluto's oblong and eccentric orbit, it cross paths with Neptune's orbit and is twenty times as massive as the neighboring Orcus. Since it does have a comparable mass neighboring it, Pluto fails the test and is now assigned into the role of a "dwarf planet," which has the same characteristics of a normal planet but does not have to clear the neighborhood around it. Technically, larger planets that are closer to each other would still fail as being planets, as "planet" is not really defined by the size or mass of a celestial body. Everything else in the Solar System, outside of planets and dwarf planets, is just known as "Small Solar-System Bodies."

Despite the final decision by this group of astronomers, many people still would like to believe that Pluto is considered a planet. Some have learned all their lives that Pluto was the farthest and smallest planet in our Solar System, but essentially science is taking back what it had previously said. Others might just disagree with the IAU's definition of "planet," as the term originally meant "wandering stars" in Greek.