Abstract This paper focuses on the history and the discovery of the nineth planet in the Solar System, Pluto, and its lone moon, Charon. The paper discusses various theories about what originally propelled astronomers to search for this mysterious planet, known as Planet X, and how its name Pluto finally came about after its discovery.
From the Paper "John Murray, an astronomer from Open University in the U.K. proposes a theory in which two large objects may gravitationally affect the orbits of long period comets. These two objects would have to be about 32,000 AU from the Sun and extremely massive, about the size of Jupiter. John J. Matese of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette proposes a similar theory. His involves two to three Jupiter sized objects orbiting at about 2.3 trillion miles from the Sun. He says that their gravity is responsible for the deflection of roughly 25% of the known 82 Oort Cloud comets into the inner solar system. Matese says that these massive objects do not necessarily have to be planets; they may be undetected brown dwarfs ? undetected because the IRAS (Infrared Astronomical Satellite) of the 1980s was not sensitive enough to distinguish an individual brown dwarf against the galactic plane."
Abstract The paper discusses how Pluto recently came under fire regarding the legitimacy of its status as a planet of the solar system. The paper examines the controversy that began when the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 1999, was implicated with the decision of reconsidering Pluto's planetary status. The paper concludes that the issue was finally set to rest when the IAU duly rejected the status change as a rumour or misinformation and Pluto's status remained safe.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Pluto Statistics
Pluto Planet or comet (A Discussion)
Pluto (A Misfit?)
Conclusion
Bibliography
From the Paper "First and foremost comes the fact of size. As mentioned earlier, Pluto is the smallest planet and in terms of its size is even smaller than seven of the moons of other planets including earth's moon. Comparatively, mercury the next smallest planet is more than twice the size of Pluto. However, most astronomers brush aside this argument stating that Pluto is too big to be classified as a minor planet. For example, Ceres the largest minor planet that exists in the asteroid belt between Jupiter and mars is only 580 miles."
