OTD In Space - August 24: Pluto Loses Its Planetary Status
On Aug. 24, 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) decided that Pluto wasn't a planet anymore. Instead, Pluto is now officially classified as a dwarf planet along with four other confirmed dwarf planets in the outskirts of the solar system. This decision sparked outrage around the world, and the controversy is still very much alive today.
Astronomers in favor of Pluto's demotion argued that a planet by definition should have cleared its orbit around the sun. Pluto and the more distant dwarf planets fail to meet this criterion. If Pluto were to keep its planetary status, those dwarf planets would also need to be classified planets. While astronomers continue to debate this new definition, the public has come together to defend Pluto's title. For now, Pluto will just have to be the king of the dwarf planets. And that's pretty cool, too.
Astronomers in favor of Pluto's demotion argued that a planet by definition should have cleared its orbit around the sun. Pluto and the more distant dwarf planets fail to meet this criterion. If Pluto were to keep its planetary status, those dwarf planets would also need to be classified planets. While astronomers continue to debate this new definition, the public has come together to defend Pluto's title. For now, Pluto will just have to be the king of the dwarf planets. And that's pretty cool, too.
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TechTranscript
00:00On this day, in space.
00:03In 2006, the International Astronomical Union decided that Pluto wasn't a planet anymore.
00:08Instead, Pluto was now officially classified as a dwarf planet,
00:11along with four other confirmed dwarf planets in the outskirts of the solar system.
00:15This decision sparked outrage around the world, and the controversy is still very much alive today.
00:20Astronomers in favor of Pluto's demotion argued that a planet, by definition,
00:24should have cleared its orbit around the sun.
00:26Pluto and the more distant dwarf planets failed to meet this criterion.
00:29If Pluto were to keep its planetary status, those dwarf planets would also need to be classified as planets.
00:34While astronomers continue to debate this new definition,
00:37the public has come together to defend Pluto's title.
00:39For now, Pluto will continue to be the king of the dwarf planets, which is still pretty cool.
00:44And that's what happened on this day in space.