BACKGROUND:
- The object formerly known as the planet Pluto was discovered on February 18, 1930 at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, by astronomer Clyde W. Tombaugh, with contributions from William H. Pickering.
- Pluto was removed as a planet in 2006 by the International Astronomical Union. The IAU downgraded Pluto's status to that of a dwarf planet because it did not meet the three criteria the IAU uses to define a full-sized planet. Essentially Pluto meets all the criteria except one—it “has not cleared its neighboring region of other objects.”
- Current NASA chief Jim Bridenstine has claimed that in his view Pluto is a planet.
https://www.planetary.org/space-images/pluto-in-colorized-infrared
PLUTO IN COLORIZED INFRARED Colorized infrared layer from "The Rich Color Variations of Pluto" (PIA19952). NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute / ZLDoyle
In the image PIA19952 (http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19952), the red luminance channel corresponds to the infrared data acquired by the Ralph/MVIC instrument as it flew past Pluto. The green and blue luminance channels have been removed. The color data data from the original image was layered over the remaining luminance channel and further enhanced to bring out greater variation across the surface of Pluto. Because the luminance data was captured through an infrared filter, the areas appearing closest to white correspond with areas most reflective to infrared wavelengths. Full 4k resolution image available here: http://i.imgur.com/B2WUkZk.jpg
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Replies
And yes, for me, Pluto is a planet.
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Astrologers still think of Pluto as a planet, too.
Like you, I grew up with it. I'm too old to change mindsets now. So long as it maintains steady orbit around our sun, it deserves to be a planet.
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