[Red Moon]

Originally posted by sol
Sorry but I still don't get why the news reader said today that there are only 8 planets, I'm really confused on this issue.

Think they might have got it wrong, according to Reuters there are possibly 12 planets.

Report Here

[Sticks]

Originally posted by Slartibartfast
I'd wait till Sticks comes online, I know very little about it

The problem was how do you define a planet, because recent discoveries in the Keiper belt, which is way past the orbit of Pluto, have found other objects bigger than Pluto, for instance 2003 UB313. This has lead to the question of whether Pluto is misclassified as a planet, which a lot of us in the scientific community think is the case.

This is why we have the reference to the eight "classical" planets, as all these are well established, have near circular orbits and are in one ecliptic plane. Pluto is at an angle, and some times it crosses the orbit of Neptune.

The proposal so far is a fudge to keep Pluto a "planet", and it is not universally welcomed, as you can see here. And also these are only proposals, they have yet to be voted on, and could be voted out.

[Sticks]

As reported on the BBC website The IAU have now officially decided, that Pluto is not a planet, but part of a new distinct catagory of dwarf planets

IAU official press release

Well that clears that up, there are only 8 planets

[Chrizzle]

Saw on Newsround that Pluto has officially been announced as 'not a planet' and loads of schoolbooks have to get re-written.

[Foebane100]

It was a planet now it has been down graded.

[EugeneSully]

it is now just a lump of flying rock.

[Edwin]

So now there are dwarf planets.. but that still fails to answer my question.. What makes a planet.. a planet? and theres a new one: What makes a dwarf planet, a dwarf planet?

Also, I thought Charon was a moon of pluto, how come it's now classified as a dwarf planet? Are dwarf planets not allowed moons so it's now go it's own identity? eurgh, so complicated.