Pluto is Still a Planet (in my Heart)

          

            In 2006, the International Astronomical Union (or, more commonly, the IAU) created its definitive answer for what a planet is. Just like that, planet Pluto was planet no more. Of course, the debate goes much deeper, but the IAU’s rule stuck. Pluto is still not a planet. But should it be? For starters, the rule that cut Pluto out is about as ambiguous as it gets and its fascinating geology can make it a worthwhile visit. For sentimental reasons as well, keeping Pluto as a planet ends up as the better idea. 

Starting with the science, Pluto got cut out because of it doesn’t clear its neighborhood. However, this rule gets murky and almost seems to specifically block off Pluto and its fellow “dwarf planets” in the Kuiper Belt. A planet “clearing its neighborhood” means that it can move away anything that is within its orbit. But in the Kuiper Belt, with millions of astronomical bodies, getting everything to move out of Pluto’s path is hard. According to Paul Bryne, a planetary scientist, if you put Earth in the Kuiper Belt, “where neighbouring bodies are far, far more distant than in the inner Solar System, Earth would not necessarily be able to clear its neighbourhood” (Bryne). As Paul explains, the farther out planets go, the harder it gets to be the gravitationally dominant object, especially in the massive Kuiper Belt. The IAU’s variable determinant of planets conveniently cuts out Pluto without providing other substantial reasoning.

The IAU also ignores the geology, the main contributor to the love Pluto; its colorful patches, mountains, glaciers, and the possibility of an ocean makes it extremely fascinating to scientists. Unlike other dwarf planets in the Kuiper Belt, like Eris and Makemake, Pluto contains so much that, despite being demoted to a dwarf planet, scientists still heavily research it. In addition, within it’s 248-year orbit, its surface changes with heat from the sun (Stephens). The IAU’s rules are purely physical and do not consider the character behind it. After all, the 2006 decision was before NASA’s New Horizons flyby in 2015, which provided many photos documenting Pluto’s fascinating surface.

One of the main arguments against Pluto being a planet is that, if Pluto becomes a planet, why shouldn’t the Moon become one too? What about Eris, or the tens of other objects with Pluto in the Kuiper Belt? The flaw in this argument is that, all of them can be planets. Splitting nature provides a lot more problems than lumping things together (as seen with our fall final history project!). Calling Pluto a planet does not imply that everything else needs to also be a planet. A planet can be anything. The IAU’s reclassification of Pluto drew more attention about its demotion than the cool things that scientists have leaned about it. For a more modern and whole argument, Pluto should be a planet. 

Works Cited:

Bryne, Paul. “Pluto Should Be Our Ninth Planet. A Planetary Scientist Explains Why.” BBC Science Focus Magazine, 12 June 2023, www.sciencefocus.com/comment/pluto-is-a-planet.

Stephens, Tim. “Pluto’s Varied Landscape Reveals Surprisingly Complex Geology.” UC Santa Cruz News, 17 Mar. 2016, news.ucsc.edu/2016/03/pluto-geology.html.