Pluto and Eris Are In A League Of Their Own

By Michael Todd
12:18, June 12th 2008
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Pluto and Eris Are In A League Of Their Own

After a first decision by the International Astronomical Union to demote the planet Pluto to "dwarf" status two years ago, a new resolution will transfer Pluto to a new category named "plutoids."

The announcement was made yesterday and presented the IAU’s conclusions from last week’s meeting in Oslo, Norway.

At this point there are two plutoids registered, the second being Eris which was discovered in 2003 and is bigger and farther from the sun than Pluto.

Astronomers consider that the decision transforms Pluto into a much more interesting subject of discussion, as it has changed from being just another planet to a "prototype of a new type of fascinating objects," as Catherine Cesarsky, a French astrophysicist and president of the IAU, explained, according to the Associated Press.

The union’s representatives explained that the celestial bodies referred to as plutoids "have sufficient mass for their self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that they assume a hydrostatic equilibrium (near-spherical) shape, and that have not cleared [their orbits of debris],” as quoted by BBC News.

The searches and observation sessions will continue and as science progresses more and more discoveries are expected to surface, including some new additions to the plutoid list.

The solar system is now composed of eight planets: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Earth, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and two plutoids: Pluto and Eris. Ceres, the largest asteroid in the solar system is also sometimes added to the list.



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Tags: IAU, Pluto, Eris
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