Pluto Is Having Its Secrets Revealed

Pluto has an elongated orbit, and when it is closest to the sun a small atmosphere forms as the ice on its surface vaporizes its top layer.  This atmosphere disappears when Pluto goes deeper into space.  Since Pluto has a period for its orbit well over two hundred Earth years long, the opportunity to study its atmosphere is temporary, and will soon disappear.  The discussion of the atmosphere, and is soon to be disappearance is found on the DVD the Universe, which is the season one of the television series.  It is in the episode that goes into small bodies.

When Pluto lost its planet status it was one of four bodies up for consideration.  Charon, its largest moon, was up for planet, since it is so large compared to Pluto, not because it is the largest moon out there.   Other moons are larger than Charon.  Also, Ceres was up to return to planet status.  Ceres is the largest asteroid, and was a planet until it lost its status in the nineteenth century.   The fourth object up was Eris, a Kuiper Belt object slightly larger than Pluto that also has a moon.

Not up was Sedna, a distant planet sized object that could cause future refinement of the definition of planet had the four candidates made it to planet status.

To be a planet an object must orbit the sun, and sweep its orbit.  Since Ceres us in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, and Pluto, Charon, and Eris are Kuiper Belt objects, at least part time for Pluto and Charon, as they pass space debris moves through their orbits so frequently that they do not effectively sweep their orbits.   They move in crowded areas of the solar system.

Of added concern regarding Pluto was it is not really in the same plane as the rest of the planets.  Its orbit is noticeably inclined with respect to the rest of the solar system.

Mike Brown has been involved in hunting for large Kuiper Belt objects, and has had a number of successes.  Had Pluto retained its planet status several other dwarf planets would have to be given consideration.  Pluto is the first Kuiper Belt object of such size as to bring about the question of what is a planet, but the list of objects that would have had to be considered is continuing to grow.

The Kuiper Belt is an area around the inner solar system, and the inner part of the solar system is where the planets are found.  The Kuiper Belt is filled with rocky, icy objects, and the home from which many comets come, and to which they often return, as they orbit the sun.

Farther out than even the Kuiper Belt is the Ort Cloud.  Unlike the Kuiper Belt, which is like a ring around the inner solar system, the Ort Cloud encompasses the solar system in all directions.  Sedna is an Ort Cloud object.  Just like Pluto leaves the Kuiper Belt for a part of its orbit, Sedna leaves the Ort Cloud for part of its orbit and comes into the Kuiper Belt.  Because it is now in the Kuiper Belt it is close enough to have been detected, as per Mike Brown in a video on Dwarf Planets.

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