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submitted 3 months ago by fossilesque@mander.xyz to c/science_memes@mander.xyz

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[-] nialv7@lemmy.world 154 points 3 months ago

Size doesn't matter

[-] Zerush@lemmy.ml 106 points 3 months ago

Correct, it's called planet when it orbits arround the Sun AND has cleaned it's orbit from asteroids, not the case of Pluto, whose orbit is still full of other objects, some even bigger than Pluto itself.

If it orbits an Planet instead of the Sun, it's a Moon, even if it is bigger than some other planets.

[-] FuglyDuck@lemmy.world -1 points 3 months ago

Pluto is a dwarf planet, which is still a planet.

Also, they absolutely should have just made an exception for Pluto so science teachers everywhere could have used that as a fun teaching point.

[-] Small_Quasar@lemmy.world 41 points 3 months ago

Considering it's in a double tidally locked orbit with its own moon Charon and the point that both rotate around is outside Pluto's volume I would argue that the Pluto/Charon system is actually a dwarf-binary-planet.

[-] FuglyDuck@lemmy.world 5 points 3 months ago

I'd okay with that. As long as it's still technically a planet. (what? it's my favorite!)

[-] binarytobis@lemmy.world 3 points 3 months ago

Everyone loves an underdog

[-] sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 3 months ago

At that point the only really 'planety' thing about is is basically that it is spherical.

Its not primarily orbiting the sun, so much as it is the barycenter of itself and charon.

And there are moons that are bigger, and more spherical, and more massive than Pluto.

And while it does have the vaguely heart shaped terrain feature, Mars has a smiley face crater, Saturn has an eternal hexagon on its north and south poles, despite being a gas giant, Jupiter has the spot, Mimas kinda looks like the Death Star, etc.