Space
100 New Planets Could Be Added To Solar System Including Four Moons
Elaine Hannah
First Posted: Feb 21, 2017 03:50 AM EST
NASA scientists have proposed a manifesto indicating what classifies a planet. With this, about 100 new planets including the Earth's Moon could be added to the Solar System.
Alan Stern, the principal investigator of NASA's New Horizons mission to Pluto, and other colleagues classify planets as ones that do not orbit the Sun. Stern said that the whole way they classify planets are wrong and they should consider the Earth's Moon as a planet. These also include Titan and Enceladus that orbit Saturn, and Europa and Ganymede that orbit Jupiter, according to The Independent.
"In the mind of the public, the word "planet" carries a significance lacking in other words used to describe planetary bodies...many members of the public assume that alleged "non-planets" cease to be interesting enough to warrant scientific exploration," as written by the team in its manifesto.
If the proposals are granted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), the Solar System will then have 100 new planets. These include the Earth's Moon, Saturn's moon Titan and Jupiter's moons Europa and Ganymede.
The Moon is considered the Earth's only permanent natural satellite and the fifth largest natural satellite in the Solar System. It is also the second-densest satellite among those whose densities are known. It is about 384,400 km or 1.28 light-seconds away from the planet Earth.
The surface of the Moon is dark. On the other hand, it could be seen in the night sky as very bright. It is theorized that the Moon's gravitational influence the body tides, ocean tides and the slight lengthening of the day. Its current orbital distance is about 30 times the diameter of the Earth. With this, it covers the Sun precisely in total solar eclipse.
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First Posted: Feb 21, 2017 03:50 AM EST
NASA scientists have proposed a manifesto indicating what classifies a planet. With this, about 100 new planets including the Earth's Moon could be added to the Solar System.
Alan Stern, the principal investigator of NASA's New Horizons mission to Pluto, and other colleagues classify planets as ones that do not orbit the Sun. Stern said that the whole way they classify planets are wrong and they should consider the Earth's Moon as a planet. These also include Titan and Enceladus that orbit Saturn, and Europa and Ganymede that orbit Jupiter, according to The Independent.
"In the mind of the public, the word "planet" carries a significance lacking in other words used to describe planetary bodies...many members of the public assume that alleged "non-planets" cease to be interesting enough to warrant scientific exploration," as written by the team in its manifesto.
If the proposals are granted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), the Solar System will then have 100 new planets. These include the Earth's Moon, Saturn's moon Titan and Jupiter's moons Europa and Ganymede.
The Moon is considered the Earth's only permanent natural satellite and the fifth largest natural satellite in the Solar System. It is also the second-densest satellite among those whose densities are known. It is about 384,400 km or 1.28 light-seconds away from the planet Earth.
The surface of the Moon is dark. On the other hand, it could be seen in the night sky as very bright. It is theorized that the Moon's gravitational influence the body tides, ocean tides and the slight lengthening of the day. Its current orbital distance is about 30 times the diameter of the Earth. With this, it covers the Sun precisely in total solar eclipse.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone