NASA Scientists Plan To Give Pluto Its Planet Status Again

NASA scientists recently published a manifesto that proposed a new definition of the word "planet." If this definition holds, it could add 100 new planets to the Solar System - including Pluto and Earth's own Moon.

According to Science Alert, the manifesto proposed one key change: that cosmic bodies in the Solar System should no longer need to orbit the Sun in order to be considered planets. Intrinsic physical properties are more important now than their interactions with their stars.

The research explained that the new geophysical definition emphasizes on intrinsic physical properties (geology) and not extrinsic orbital properties (orbits around a central star or Sun). The team led by Alan Stern, principal investigator of NASA's New Horizon's mission to Pluto, proposed that the new definition of a planet should be "round objects in space that are smaller than stars." This would not only reinstate the hearty planet to its former glory but it would also now include Earth's very own satellite.

A more detailed description was also made available, putting the classification as a "a sub-stellar mass body that has never undergone nuclear fusion." Other qualities include sufficient self-gravitaion to assume a spheroidal shape, although there is a glaring lack of a cleared neighborhood around its orbit. The last bit especially demoted Pluto as it has not made a complete orbit around the Sun just yet.

The International Astronomical Union (IAU), which approves such definition, will see the fate of Pluto and hundreds of other spheroid objects in the Solar System. While it may seem like a fast-track in redefining planets, humanity has been changing the definition as more discoveries about outer space are known, Gizmodo noted.

For now, Pluto is still a dwarf planet. The IAU may finalize it, but it is going to take a lot of deliberation before the new definitions become official. Although Stern's team believes that they have the public on their side after all, who could resist the planet with a heart?