Nasib Planet Pluto

Posted by: gibol on: Agustus 29, 2006

Planet Pluto akhirnya diputuskan bukanlah sebuah planet. Hal ini diputuskan oleh sekitar 2500 orang ahli pada pertemuan di Praha, pada 24 Agustus 2006 yang lalu.
Hal tersebut dikarenakan setelah menganalisa lebih jauh ciri dan sifat dari Pluto itu sendiri.
Menurut para ahli ada 3 persyaratan untuk disebut planet:

• Harus mengorbit mengelilingi matahari
• Harus mempunyai ukuran yang cukup besar dan berbentuk bulat
• Orbit harus jelas dan bebas dari benda lain

Dikarenakan orbitnya yang berbentuk elips, maka pluto dianggap bukan planet, sekarang Pluto berstatus sebagai ‘Dwarf Planet’ bersama 2003 UB313, atau yang sering di sebut Xena.
Tampaknya buku-buku pelajaran dan buku-buku sains lain harus mengalami perombakan besar-besaran oleh keputusan ini. Dan saya yang terlanjur hafal hal ini menjadi agak tidak menerima hal ini. Juga dikarenakan hanya 9 malah harus di kurangi lagi. Makin sedikit saja Planet pada tata surya kita. Padahal beberapa tahun lalu pada saat UB313 / xena di temukan sangat berharap itu merupakan planet ke 10. Ternyata bukan, malah Pluto juga terpaksa harus dicoret dari daftar planet di tata surya kita.
Semoga di saat2 mendatang bakalan di temukan planet-planet lain di tata surya kita untuk menambah planet kita atau bahkan di temukan makhluk-makhluk hidup lain, jadinya rame seperti di Star Wars….
s Pluto a Planet or Not?

Before we get down to whether Pluto is a planet, let us do a bit of background check on Pluto. Pluto or 134340 Pluto as it was formally known, was first discovered in 1930. It was instantly accorded the status of a planet, as it seemed like a celestial body which orbited the sun. Later a group of experts in the field of astronomy started questioning the correctness of labeling Pluto a planet. In the 1970's, astronomers started finding more celestial bodies beyond Pluto, notably 2060 Chiron (not to be confused with Pluto's moon Charon), which fueled a debate for the first time about the inadequacy of Pluto to be called a planet. The topic went hot and cold for a few years till in 2006, a convention of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) decided that there should be a formal definition for the word 'planet'. To be a planet, a celestial body ought to be able to possess certain characteristics. Unfortunately for Pluto, it did not get the pass marks in all the required criteria and hence was relegated to being a 'dwarf planet'.

The criteria that the IAU wanted every celestial body to meet were.

• The body must have its orbit around the Sun.
• It should be spherical by the merit of its own gravitational force. Meaning, its gravity should be able to pull itself into a shape which is spherical.
• It should be the biggest, most gravitationally dominant planet in its own orbit.

The IAU ruled that Pluto doesn't qualify the third criterion and it does not qualify as a planet. So unfortunately for Pluto and its founder, Clyde W. Tombaugh, Pluto is NOT a planet. It is now officially a 'dwarf planet'.