Planet Pluto is the farthest planet in the solar system before but it was eventually removed in the list. Two new studies examine the dwarf planet and they learned that Pluto is still active and is in the process of reorientation.
For those wondering why Pluto is no longer a planet, there is a certain qualification that the dwarf planet failed to meet. According to Universe Today, there are three requirements for an object to be recognized as a planet.
First, it should orbit around the sun. Second, it should have enough gravity to pull itself into a spherical shape. Third, it has to "clear the neighborhood" of its orbit. Pluto meets the two requirements but filled on the third one. Thus, the dwarf planet was removed in the list.
Now, two studies check Pluto's reorientation. Per Beacon Transcript, Francis Nimmo leads the study from University of California. Another study is led by James Keane and Isamu Matsuyama from University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory.
The researchers learned that one element behind Pluto's active nature and repositioning is the Sputnik Planitia. The Sputnik Planitia is also popularly known as Pluto's heart-shaped region. The 1,000 kilometers wide basin owns its current position to ice.
Per the report, planets tend to spin to reorient extra and deficit masses in relation to equator. As for Pluto's reorientation James Keane of the New Horizon mission explained that this could be due to the planet's ices being trapped in Sputnik Planitia.
Has #Pluto a subsurface ocean? The heart shaped Sputnik Planitia has a specific orientation that gives new evidences https://t.co/luumtQcTNN pic.twitter.com/CqGHL0qKdK
— Xavi Bros (@Xavi_Bros) November 16, 2016
The researchers are still unsure what Pluto is going to do but they can monitor it. There are still a number of questions left unanswered and mysteries left unsolved concerning the dwarf planet but it might take years before the researchers return to Pluto.
"There are a lot of higher priorities, other worlds we need to visit before we go back to Pluto," James Keane told the Daily Wildcat. Per the report, it took 10 years for New Horizon to have a few minutes sight of the dwarf planet's surface.
Do you miss the dwarf planet in the solar system? Will Pluto be recognized as a planet again eventually? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
