Why Pluto Should Be a Planet

Pluto was demoted from its planetary status in 2006, but was there a good reason for this? In this video I discuss why Pluto (and the Moon) should be planets again.

Sources
Screenshots of article headlines are from:
Protesters, supporting Pluto, say size doesn't matter

Clyde Tombaugh's Family Joins Protest of Pluto's Downgrade

Friends, colleagues of Pluto discoverer protest demotion

The IAU definition of a planet is stated here in this article

The definition of Soter’s Mu and its values for the different planets

Kepler-1625b I information

Kepler-1708 b-i information

2MASS J11193254–1137466 AB information

Where Wikipedia states the Moon is not in hydrostatic equilibrium


List of planets with Lagrangian moons
Where I got the sizes and masses of the different celestial bodies

When I said the least massive white dwarf is 200 mass of the Jupiter, the was the white dwarf I was referring to

Upper limt before becoming a brown dwarf

Attribution
Images
At 0:15, the image IAU-GA-2006-Pluto-Vote by Aldebarium is used under CC BY-SA 4.0.The section of the video where this image is used is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 by Br Miller.

At 0:34, the image EightTNOs by Lexicon is used under CC BY 3.0. The section of the video where this image is used is licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0 by Br Miller.

At 0:48, the image Kuiper belt plot objects of outer solar system by WilyD is used under CC-BY-SA 3.0. The section of the video where this image is used is licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0 by Br Miller.

At 2:37, the image Planets everywhere by the European Southern Observatory is used under CC BY 4.0.

At 5:20, the rendering of the hypothetical exomoon was a screenshot from the software Celestia which is under a GNU General Public License.

At 5:44, the image 25 Solar System Objects Smaller than Earth by Primefac is used under CC BY 3.0.

At 5:33, the image Titan and Dione - May 21 2011 by Kevin Gill is used under CC BY 2.0.

At 5:40, the image Titan in true color by Kevin M. Gill by Kevin Gill is used under CC BY 2.0.

At 5:51, the image UpsilonAndromedae D moons by Lucianomendez is used under CC-BY-SA 3.0. The section of the video where this image is used is licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0 by Br Miller.

At 5:50, the image Exomoon Kepler-1625b-i orbiting its planet (artist’s impression) by ESA/Hubble is used under CC BY 4.0.

At 7:08, the image Planet Gamma Cephei Ab and Star B by Tyrogthekreeper is used under CC BY 3.0. The section of the video where this image is used is licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0 by Br Miller. This image was a screenshot from the software Celestia which is under a GNU General Public License.

At 8:14, the image Mimas - February 1 2011 by Kevin Gill is used under CC BY 2.0.

At 8:33, the image Ida - August 1993 by Kevin Gill is used under CC BY-SA 2.0. The section of the video where this image is used is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 by Br Miller.

At 8:48, the image SPHERE image of Hygiea by the European Southern Observatory is used under CC BY 4.0.

At 8:52, the image Miranda - January 24 1986 by Kevin Gill is used under CC BY 2.0.

At 9:15, the image MoonTopoLOLA by Mark A. Wieczorek is used under CC BY 3.0.

At 12:15, the image of Eris was closely based on Artist’s impression of the dwarf planet Eris by the European Southern Observatory, used under CC BY 4.0.

At 12:55, the image Pluto, Charon, and Sun by Kevin Gill is used under CC BY 3.0.

Music

Trancer - Gunnar Olsen

00:00 Intro
00:35 Why Pluto was Demoted
02:35 Criticism of the Current Definition of a Planet
10:06 A Better Definition
12:37 Outro

[GH-oijf]

It is a planet -- a dwarf planet, specifically. "Dwarf planet" is a useful category. There is no need to change the classification system back, but you may call it whatever you like.

[geothefox]

I think dwarf planets are planets to. It doesn't matter if their orbit is full of small chunks of space rock.

[amminadab]

Great delivery, you explain things really well. You won me over with your reasoning.
Pluto will be happy with you 😂

[vintologi]

Main issue i can see with going by mass is that it can be hard to measure (such as for Sedna).

[argosz]

It's great to see someone giving thought to updating our astronomical terminology. After all, our knowledge is exponentially growing - so definitions become outdated very quickly.

[servantofaeie]

I use the Stern-Levison definition (which means at *least* 36 planets), but if I were to go with yours, I'd set the lower mass limit down to Mimas (giving around 50 planets). Vesta seems like an asteroid-planet transitional to me anyway.

[ShatteredWaters]

really well done video! I myself would have a hard time thinking of a genuinely good definitely for a planet due to all of the little details in celestial objects, but this seemed to account for it all really well! I'd agree with this idea of a planet
nicely done video!

[ianlim]

Great job in trying to define the planets! While I do agree that mass is one factor, I would say that position should align with mass. Like, for example: If Pluto is ahead of Eris and other dwarf planets and other categories, and already has enough mass to hold itself there, then Pluto should have the mass to be equal with the other planets. Eris has like 27-33 percent more mass than Pluto, but if such percentage is divided from Pluto, then the mass is not equal since Eris is within the range of Pluto.

[thomasdeturk]

Pluto will be proud of the USA For Pulling out of the IAU.

[Megaton]

What about when a satellite is shattered by it's host planet's gravity or a collision with another of it's host planet's satellites?
Is the host planet than also redefined as a "dwarf planet" (given that it's orbit hasn't been cleared of debris)?
Even if it's mass equals that of e.g. Saturn? (Which by the way isn't in a state of hydrostatic equilibrium, as are other gas- and ice-planets)
Also, the definition of "planet" is "wanderer"... Doesn't every object in the observable universe fit into that category, since nothing is static?
Anyway, I totally agree with you.

[RonColeArt]

Rocky planet, gas planet, ice planet, water planet, dwarf planet... guess what these things all have in common.

[TheCinnamonRollz]

where did you get the planet images that were in the new planet list?

[vintologi]

Yea going by mass is probably the best option.

Minor planet: 10^21 to 2*20^23 Kg

Major planet: 2*10^23 Kg to 2.4 * 10^28 Kg

[ryannoluck]

So when are you gonna get back to work on TLP?

[bismuthdistrict]

i used to despise people who said pluto should be a planet because they have attachment issues with ice but this video showed me the problems with our definition so thanks but please for the love of god don’t let moons be planets
if the barycenter is 25-75 percent of the way between the objects’ centers respectively then it’s a binary and if not then the lighter of the 2 is the moon

[peadarruane]

My counter to Pluto's demotion is that if they want to exclude Pluto, then us Justice for Pluto people should take down one of their beloved planets. Jupiter doesn't orbit the Sun, Both the sun and jupiter orbit a common barycentre!

[YeenMage]

The term "planetas" should be considered obsolete. It originally just means "wonderer" in Greek and it means anything that moves relative to fixed background stars, and it included the Sun and Moon in the past. Planet classification should be relegated as a tradition merely and should not be taken that seriously anymore

[thepotatobredrblx]

What happened to TLP? Where is Episode 7?

[kerryevans]

Pluto is a planet. To suggest otherwise is treason. As the Queen of Pluto, I degree, therefore my word is law.😂😂😂😂

[catsgame]

So is pluto the smallest planet in our solar system or eris