this post was submitted on 28 Jun 2024
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There are at least 9
Pluto is a dwarf planet. Planet. You wouldn’t say that a dwarf person isn’t a person.
Speak for yourself
You wouldn't call a person a dwarf, period. So don't do that. If you ever meet a little person, they'll probably refer to themselves as a little person. You should just follow their lead
A dwarf planet is not a category of planets. It is a category of sub-planetary objects. This is how the term "dwarf planet" was adopted by the IAU in 2006. It did used to mean "type of planet", but there are just too many of them, and they're really too different from planets, so it literally does not mean that anymore. At least to astronomers.
Whatever a red car is still a car.
It’s dumb to say it isn’t a planet just because it hasn’t yet cleared its orbit. The decision to make it “not a planet” was also made by astronomers, not by planetary scientists. Like people with “Star” in their name know more about planets than people with “planet” in theirs.
Anyways it’s extra silly because if you have “real planets” and “dwarf planets” then what is the higher group containing those two? “Things that orbit the sun”? No, they should both be planets.
I'm not going to argue with astronomers about how they define planets. I do my job, they do theirs!
At least 9... https://www.britannica.com/list/our-5-dwarf-planets