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How are you spending Pluto Demoted Day?
KidsPost
Ever wondered why Pluto is no longer a planet?
Pluto, left, is shown with Charon, one of its five moons. Pluto was demoted to a dwarf planet in 2006. (HYPERSPHERE/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/ASSOCIATED PRESS)
By Jason Bittel
Yesterday at 5:00 p.m. EDT
At the edge of our solar system, there’s a tiny, icy world with a diameter — or length across at its widest point — only 18.5 percent as large as Earth’s. You know it as Pluto.
When your parents were kids, Pluto was actually considered a planet. But 15 years ago, a group of scientists known as the International Astronomical Union voted to make the definition of “planets” more specific, and Pluto no longer made the cut. According to the IAU, Pluto is technically a “dwarf planet,” because it has not “cleared its neighboring region of other objects.” This means that Pluto still has lots of asteroids and other space rocks along its flight path, rather than having absorbed them over time, like the larger planets have done.
Believe it or not, each year on August 24, the international scientific community recognizes Pluto’s historic downgrade with a holiday called Pluto Demoted Day.
{snip}
Bittel is a freelance journalist who often writes about animals. His children’s book, “How to Talk to a Tiger . . . and Other Animals,” published in April.
Ever wondered why Pluto is no longer a planet?
Pluto, left, is shown with Charon, one of its five moons. Pluto was demoted to a dwarf planet in 2006. (HYPERSPHERE/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/ASSOCIATED PRESS)
By Jason Bittel
Yesterday at 5:00 p.m. EDT
At the edge of our solar system, there’s a tiny, icy world with a diameter — or length across at its widest point — only 18.5 percent as large as Earth’s. You know it as Pluto.
When your parents were kids, Pluto was actually considered a planet. But 15 years ago, a group of scientists known as the International Astronomical Union voted to make the definition of “planets” more specific, and Pluto no longer made the cut. According to the IAU, Pluto is technically a “dwarf planet,” because it has not “cleared its neighboring region of other objects.” This means that Pluto still has lots of asteroids and other space rocks along its flight path, rather than having absorbed them over time, like the larger planets have done.
Believe it or not, each year on August 24, the international scientific community recognizes Pluto’s historic downgrade with a holiday called Pluto Demoted Day.
{snip}
Bittel is a freelance journalist who often writes about animals. His children’s book, “How to Talk to a Tiger . . . and Other Animals,” published in April.
10 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
and stand with Pluto for it's recognition as a Planet. 
Being a Scorpio and all. 
Miserably and in pain. How's that for a Pluto oriented day? 
