Pluto is dwarf planet

7/29/2019 Pluto is dwarf planet

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FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND LANGUAGES

JANUARY 2012

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TEACHING SCIENCE FOR UPPER PRIMARY II

MATRICULATION NO : 670703115262002

IDENTITY CARD NO : 670703-11-5262

PHONE NUMBER : 017-9373735

E-MAIL : [email protected]

PUSAT PEMBELAJARAN : IPGM KAMPUS TENGKU

AMPUAN AFZAN LIPIS


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Contents

1. Introduction of Solar System 2

2. Characteristics of Pluto Qualify as a Planet 6

3. Pluto Reclassified as a Dwarf Planet 8

4. Opinion on the Status of Pluto 10

5. Conclusion 13

Figure 1.1: Image of Solar System 3

Figure 1.2: Terrestrial Planets 5

Figure 1.3 Jovian Planets 6

Figure 2.1: Physical Characteristic of Pluto 7

Figure 4.1: Image of Pluto and Eris 10

Figure 4.2 : Pluto and its largest moon, Charon 11

Figure 4.3 : Plutos Orbital Eccentricity 12

Figure 4.4 : Plutos Orbit 13

Bibliography 15


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1. Introduction of Solar System

The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally

bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud

approximately 4.6 billion years ago. Refer to the figure 1.1: Image of the Solar System, itconsists of the Sun; the eight official planets, 5 dwarf planets and their 174 known

moons, asteroids, comets, dust and gas, a large number of small bodies, and the

interplanetary medium. The planets, asteroids, and comets travel around the Sun, the

center of our solar system. The Sun is the centre of our solar system. The mass of the Sun

alone is one thousand times the mass of all the components of the solar system. The Sun

is a very hot gaseous body composed of almost 75% hydrogen and 25% helium. Less

than 1% is made up of oxygen and several other elements. The diameter of the Sun is

1,400,000 km (840,000 miles) which is more than 100 times the diameter of the Earth. Its

mass is more than 300,000 times that of the Earth with a surface temperature of about

5500 C.

Figure 1.1: Image of Solar System


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Figure 1.2 shown the image of terrestrial planets and there are four terrestrial

planets in our Solar System listed as Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. The Moon is not

structurally the same as a terrestrial planet, but it does have some similarities. The

terrestrial planets in our Solar System are also known as the inner planets because these

planets are the four closest to the Sun. Terrestrial planets are also called rocky planets or

telluric planets. They differ from gas giants, the outer planets, in a number of ways.

Terrestrial planets share a number of common features. They are all composed

mostly of rock and heavy metals. These planets have a core made of heavy metals that is

mostly iron; the core is surrounded by a mantle of silicate rock. Terrestrial planets are

much smaller than gas giants. The terrestrial planets also have varied terrain such as

volcanoes, canyons, mountains, and craters. Another common feature among the

terrestrial planets is that they have few or no moons. Mercury and Venus have none while

Earth has one. Mars has two small moons. Also, the terrestrial planets do not have

planetary rings like the gas planets do. The atmosphere of planets can vary from Venus

thick carbon dioxide atmosphere to almost nothing on Mercury.

Mercury is the smallest terrestrial planet in the Solar System. Its atmosphere is

very thin, which is why the planet alternates between burning and freezing temperatures.

Mercury is also a dense planet and is composed of mostly iron and nickel.Venus is also a terrestrial planet and has a thick toxic atmosphere, which traps the

heat making it the hottest planet in the Solar System. It is nearly the same size as Earth.

Earth is the densest of the planets because of its high percentage of iron, even for

a terrestrial planet. Its atmosphere is composed mostly of oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon

dioxide with traces of other substances.

Mars is the fourth terrestrial planet in the Solar System. Its surface is red because

of the iron in rocks that has rusted. Although the planet has a thin atmosphere, scientists

believe that it used to be thicker. They believe the atmospheres thinning caused any

liquid water the planet had to evaporate.


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Figure 1.2: Terrestrial Planets

In our solar system there are four Jovian planets which are listed as Jupiter, Saturn

Uranus, and Neptune. Jovian planets are also known as gas giants. These four planets

also comprise the outer planets. The outer planets, also called Jovian planets or gas

giants, are gaseous with no solid surfaces and only liquid cores. The outer planets are so

much larger than the inner planets that they comprise 99% of the mass of the celestial

objects orbiting our Sun. All of the outer planets have rings, although Saturns are the

most noticeable. Despite common belief, gas giants are not composed entirely of gas. A

rocky core exists somewhere within these balls of gas because of the intense high

temperatures in the middle of these planets, the rocky core of a gas giant is actually

believed to be liquid heavy compounds, such as nickel. Thus, it is sometimes misleading

when astronomers refer to the rocky core of these planets. The Jovian planets have

dozens of moons.

Jupiter is the largest planet in our Solar System with a mass more than three

hundred times Earths mass. It is two and a half times as massive as all of the other

planets in our solar system combined. Jupiter is not only the largest planet, it also has themost moons 63 identified so far. Jupiter is one of the brightest objects in the sky and

has a very stormy atmosphere. One major storm, the Great Red Spot, is as big as the

Earth.. The plane is primarily composed of hydrogen with a small proportion of helium; it

may also have a rocky core of heavier elements. Because of its rapid rotation the planet is

an oblate spheroid.


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Saturn is hard to miss with its distinctive, large rings. Although all of the outer

planets have rings, Saturns are the most visible ones. The planet Saturn is primarily

composed of hydrogen, with small proportions of helium and trace elements. The interior

consists of a small core of rock and ice, surrounded by a thick layer of metallic hydrogen

and a gaseous outer layer.

Uranus is the only giant planet whose equator is nearly at right angles to its orbit.

A collision with an Earth-sized object may explain Uranus' unique tilt. The atmosphere of

Uranus is composed of 83% hydrogen, 15% helium, 2% methane and small amounts of

acetylene and other hydrocarbons. Methane in the upper atmosphere absorbs red light,

giving Uranus its blue-green color.

Neptune is the eighth and farthest known planet from the Sun in the Solar System.

It is the fourth largest planet by diameter and the third largest by mass; Neptune is 17

times the mass of Earth. Neptunes atmosphere is primarily composed of hydrogen and

helium, with traces of methane that account for the planets blue appearance. Neptunes

blue colour is much more vivid than of Uranus, which as similar amount of methane, so

an unknown component to cause Neptunes intense colour.

Figure 1.3: Jovian Planets

2. Characteristics of Pluto Qualify as a Planet

The Pluto planet was discovered in 1930. Pluto is the most distant planet from the

Sun. It has an eccentric, oval-shaped orbit, which is tilted with respect to the rest of the

Solar System. It is even identified as the solar systems smallest planet. Refer to figure


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Tombaugh at Lowell Observatory in 1930. On the other hand, it has been clear for

decades that Pluto does not fit in with the pattern of the other planets. Over the last few

years, the accumulated information on Pluto and the discovery of an increasing number

of other objects in the outer solar system with orbital characteristics very similar to those

of Pluto have been discussed within the community of astronomers called "minor-planet

researchers". The question of the official status of Pluto has recently come to the

forefront because the orbits of some of these other objects are now sufficiently well

determined that it is reasonable to begin including them in the catalog of orbits of what

are now generically known as "Trans-Neptunian Objects" (TNOs). The IAU resolves a

planet is a celestial body that is in orbit around the Sun, has sufficient mass for its self-

gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly

round) shape, and has cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit. Discovered in 1930,

Pluto orbits the Sun, has two moons, has an atmosphere, has weather, and even polar

caps. It is not that much different than any of the other planets.

3. Pluto Reclassified as a Dwarf Planet

In August of 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) came up with a

definition of the word Planet. For an object to be a planet, it needs to meet these three

requirements defined by the IAU; it needs to be in orbit around the sun, it need to have

enough gravity to pull itself into a spherical shape and it need to have cleared the

neighborhood of its orbit. Cleared its neighborhood mean they become the dominant

gravitational body in their orbit in the Solar System. As they interact with other, smaller

objects, they either consume them, or sling them away with their gravity. Pluto fails to

meet the third condition, since its mass is only 0.07 times that of the mass of the other

objects in its orbit. The Earth in comparison has 1.7 million times the mass of the other

objects in its orbit. The IAU further resolved that Pluto be classified in the

simultaneously created dwarf planet category, and that it act as the prototype for the Pluto

category of trans-Neptunian objects, in which it would be separately, but concurrently,

classified. Any object that doesnt meet these third criteria is considered a dwarf planet.

A dwarf planet is a celestial body that is in orbit around the Sun, has sufficient mass for


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its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium

(nearly round) shape, has not cleared the neighborhood around its orbit, and is not a

satellite. Every 228 years Pluto crosses inside of the orbit of Neptune, so technically

speaking, it does not clear its neighborhood. And according to this new definition, Pluto

is no longer a planet. It is a Dwarf Planet. Pluto, Charon and Eris are found line in the

Kuiper belt. There are still many objects with similar size and mass to Pluto jostling

around in its orbit. Pluto participates in not being a Planet to the extent that its mass is not

sufficient for it to clear it's orbit of other Kuiper objects.

Pluto is no longer a planet. The scientific facts say that astronomers are putting

out there show it is just a big plutino. Plutinos are described as objects that orbit the sun

beyond the orbit of Neptune. They are thought to be similar and composition to comets,but their orbital patterns resemble Plutos. However, most of them are much smaller than

Pluto. Plutinos are also known in some cases as Trans-Neptunal objects (TNOs) or

Kuiper Belt objects. The course of Plutos orbit suggests that of a comet, cutting across

the path of Neptune much like Halleys Comet crosses the Earths orbit. With more and

more Plutinos beingdiscovered, Pluto is seen as one of them, not as a Planet.

More than that, Pluto might not be a planet at all, but the largest object orbiting in

what astronomers call the Kuiper Belt, and that it's only a matter of time before discover

a Kuiper Belt object bigger than Pluto. Traditionally, a planet is thought to be a body

orbiting a star, with enough mass to gravitationally pull itself into a spherical shape, but

not enough mass to make its own energy and shine.In composition, Pluto is more comet-

like than any of the other planets. It consists largely of various ices (water, carbon

dioxide and methane) with a few rocks thrown into the mix. In size it is smaller than

many of the moons of our solar system, but it does have a moon of its own. However,

some asteroids are known to have satellites (or "moons") of their own as well, and they're

far too small to be spherical like a planet. Pluto is also the runt of the litter of planets in

our solar system. It is by far the smallest, and the oddest. The inner four planets of our

solar system - including Earth - are all rocky, small worlds; the next four planets are all

swollen gas giants. All eight of these planets follow elliptical orbits that are almost

circular, and they all orbit in roughly the same plane about the Sun. On the other hand,


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Pluto has a comparatively steeply inclined and elongated orbit that actually brings it

inside Neptune's orbit.

4. Opinion on the Status of Pluto

Pluto will no longer be considered the ninth planetunder a new definition adoptedby the International Astronomical Union. Meeting in Prague, the IAU rejected a proposed

definition that would have boosted the number of planets in the Solar System to 12, and

instead knocked it back to eight. I totally agree that Pluto is not a planet anymore which

some reasons. The first is, Pluto is so small in size. Pluto is one-half the size of Mercury,

the next smallest planet in our solar system. In fact, Pluto is even smaller than the seven

moons in our planetary system. Pluto is only two-thirds as big as our own moon and has

only one-fifth of the Moons mass. Its size had led to astronomers to question for some

time whether Pluto should be called a planet at all. The debate about Pluto intensified in

2005 when it was shown that Eris formerly known as 2003 UB13 an object further out in

the Kuiper Belt might be larger than Pluto. Refer to the figure 4.1 shows the images of

Pluto and Eris with their moon. If Pluto classified as planet, Eris should be a planet also

and Earth's moon and hundreds of other hunks of debris floating around the Sun should

be a planet also.

Figure 4.1: Image of Pluto and Eris


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Refer to figure 4.2 shown that Pluto and its largest moon, Charon. Charon large

is only about half the size of Pluto, while all the true planets are far larger than their

moons. So IAU considered Pluto is not a planet. There are many things that make Pluto

quite different from the planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus,

and Neptune. But one difference is truly fundamental, and it explains why Pluto is not

classified as a planet. Unlike any of the planets, Pluto is embedded in a vast swarm of

bodies similar to itself. Pluto is therefore analogous to the asteroid Ceres in the asteroid

belt between Mars and Jupiter. Pluto has many friends orbiting nearby, which is not the

case for any of the planets. The planets accumulate, eject, or otherwise control all the

mass in their immediate proximity. Pluto and Ceres are not able to do that; therefore they

belong to a class that is really quite distinct from the eight planets.

Figure 4.2: Pluto and its largest moon, Charon

Other than that , Pluto should not classified as planet because Pluto has more

eccentric stretched orbit which is take 248-year orbit around the Sun than any of classic

planets of the Solar System. Its means that its distance from the sun varies a lot during

its orbit around the sun. Sometimes it is even closer to the Sun than the planet Neptune.

Pluto also rotates about its axis in the opposite direction from most of the other planets.


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Figure 4.3: Plutos orbital eccentricity

Figure 4.3 shows Plutos orbital eccentricity which is orbits in a 3:2 orbital

resonance with Neptune . When Neptune approaches Pluto from behind their gravity start

to pull on each other a little, consequential in an interaction between their positions in

orbit of the same sort that produces Trojan points. As the orbits are eccentric, the 3:2

periodic ratios is favoured since this means Neptune at all times passes Pluto when

they're almost farthest apart. Half a Pluto orbit afterward, when Pluto is nearing its

closest approach, it initially seems as if Neptune is about to catch up to Pluto. However

Pluto speeds up due to the gravitational acceleration from the Sun, stays to the fore of

Neptune, and pulls ahead until they meet again on the other side of Pluto's orbit. This

criteria not satisfied the meaning of planet given by IAU which all planet should clear its

neighborhood. It means they become the dominant gravitational body in their orbit in the

Solar System.

Another argument against Pluto being a planet is that it has an icy composition

similar to the comets and other orbital bodies in the Kuiper Belt. Data from Hubble Space

Telescope leads scientists to believe Pluto's interior is about 60% rock and 40% ice,

which is consistent with the composition of a comet. Pluto has a thin atmosphere made of

the same components of its surface: nitrogen, methane and carbon monoxide. Like a

comet, Pluto's atmosphere freezes as it moves away from the Sun and the

ices sublimate as it approaches the Sun. Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and director

of the International Astronomical Union (IAU), the worldwide hub for recording

sightings of comets and asteroids (astronomical bodies given minor planet designation),

believes Pluto is a comet.


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Figure 4.4 : Plutos Orbit

Figure 4.4 shows the Plutos orbit which is lies on Kuiper Belt. Supporters of

Pluto's planetary status argue that planets are already categorized into two unlike groups:

The inner planetsMercury, Venus, Earth, and Marswhich are composed of metals

and rock, and the outer planetsJupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptunewhich are,

essentially, giant gaseous planets. Pluto actually not belong to any group so it is hard to

say that Pluto is a planet.

5. Conclusion

I strongly believe that Pluto is not a planet. It is because Pluto is so small in size.

Pluto is even smaller than the seven moons in our planetary system. Pluto is only two-

thirds as big as our own moon and has only one-fifth of the Moons mass.

Other than that, Pluto should cannot classified as a planet because the size of

Pluto moon , Charon. It only about half of the size of Pluto.

In addition, as a planet Pluto need to have cleared the neighborhood of its orbit.

Pluto cannot interact with other smaller objects, it either cannot consume them, or cannot

sling them away with it gravity.


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More than that, Pluto cannot being a planet because it has an icy composition

similar to the comets and other orbital bodies in the Kuiper Belt.

With so many reason and fact, my opinion is Pluto not a planet.

(3196 words)


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Bibliography

Maran, Stephen P. Marschall, Laurence A. (08/2009) Pluto Confidential An Insider

Account of the Ongoing Battles over the Status of Pluto.Dallas,TX,USA. BenBella

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Thakoor, Shama .(2010). Our Solar System and Home PlanetThe Earth. 175 Publisher:

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