{"id":11606,"date":"2008-06-12T11:06:00","date_gmt":"2008-06-12T11:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.driko.org\/blog\/2008\/06\/12\/dwarf-planets-now-called-plutoids\/"},"modified":"2008-06-12T11:06:00","modified_gmt":"2008-06-12T11:06:00","slug":"dwarf-planets-now-called-plutoids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.driko.org\/blog\/2008\/06\/12\/dwarf-planets-now-called-plutoids\/","title":{"rendered":"Dwarf Planets Now Called Plutoids"},"content":{"rendered":"

Although Pluto was stripped of its planetary status two years ago, it is now regaining some measure of respect, as similar newly discovered distant bodies will be named “plutoids.”<\/a> The IAU<\/acronym> is defining plutoids as “objects that circle the sun and are too small to be considered planets, but big enough to have a level of gravity that keeps them in a near spherical shape.” By this definition, Eris<\/a>, an object discovered in 2003, will also be designated a plutoid.<\/p>\n

This is all well and good, but I tend to agree with Ralph McNutt, a planetary scientist at Johns Hopkins University, who said, “I grew up with nine planets, I’m sorry.” :-p<\/p>\n

Update:<\/strong> A Space.com<\/i> article<\/a> has some more information, including concern by some that this pronouncement is “just one more confusing term in the cosmic lexicon,” considering the fact that:<\/p>\n

The term plutoid joins a host of other odd words – plutinos, centaurs, cubewanos and EKOs<\/a> – that astronomers have conjured in recent years to define objects in the outer solar system, whose appearance seems to grow more complex every year.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[via 1<\/a> 2<\/a>]<\/div>\n

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tags: <\/p>\n