Reuters — A team of scientists seeking to restore Pluto to planet hood launched a campaign on Tuesday (March 21) to broaden the astronomical classifications which led to its demotion to a “dwarf planet” a decade ago.
Six scientists from institutions across the United States argued that Pluto deserves to be a full planet, along with some 110 other bodies in the solar system, including Earth’s moon.
In a paper presented at an international planetary science conference at The Woodlands, Texas, the scientists explained that geological properties, such as shape and surface features, should determine what constitutes a planet.
In 2006, the International Astronomical Union, struggling with how to classify a newly discovered icy body beyond Pluto, adopted a definition for a planet based on characteristics that include clearing other objects from its orbital path.
Pluto and its newfound kin in the solar system’s distant Kuiper Belt region were reclassified as dwarf planets, along with Ceres, the biggest object in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The decision left the solar system with eight planets.
The group advocates for a sub-classification system. This approach would categorize Earth’s moon as a type of planet.