Pluto and the debate over whether it should be classified as a planet 93 years after discovery

February 18 marks the 93rd anniversary of the opening Pluto American astronomer Clyde William Tombaugh of the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona.

It was considered the ninth and smallest planet in the solar system by the International Astronomical Union and public opinion from its location in 1930 until 2006, when it was reclassified as a dwarf planet, although its definition has always been a matter of controversy. among astronomers.

Controversy about its origin

For many years it has been believed that Pluto it was a satellite of Neptune, which ceased to be a satellite upon reaching the second cosmic velocity. However, this theory was rejected in the 1970s.

After intense debate and at the suggestion of Uruguayan astronomers Julio Ángel Fernández and Gonzalo Tancredi, at the General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union in Prague, Czech Republic, in 2006, it was unanimously decided to reclassify Pluto as a dwarf planet, requiring the planet to have a dominant orbital position. Its classification as a planet was proposed in a draft resolution but disappeared from the final resolution approved by the UAI General Assembly. Since September 7, 2006, it has the number 134340 assigned by the Minor Planet Center.

But since then, many scientists who believe that Pluto It must be a planet again. But not because it has a climate, a multi-layered atmosphere, possible organic compounds, liquid oceans and its own moons, as experts argue based on scientific data, but because it was taught in schools, an argument that holds true for the Conservation Society Pluto like a planet.

Pluto It has an eccentric and highly inclined orbit with respect to the ecliptic along which it moves, approaching at its perihelion the inner part of Neptune’s orbit. In addition, it also has five satellites: Charon, Nix, Hydra, Cerberus and Styx, which are celestial bodies that belong to the same category, according to Wikipedia.

Its great distance from the Sun and Earth, together with its small size, prevents it from shining above magnitude 13.8 at its best moments (orbital perihelion and opposition), so it can only be assessed with 200mm aperture telescopes, photographically or with a CCD camera. Even at its best, it appears as a stellate, yellowish, inconspicuous point star (less than 0.1 arc second apparent diameter). Only in 2015 did the New Horizons spacecraft fly over the planet and for the first time made it possible to clearly assess its real appearance. (Europe Press)

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