1answer.
Ask question
Login Signup
Ask question
All categories
  • English
  • Mathematics
  • Social Studies
  • Business
  • History
  • Health
  • Geography
  • Biology
  • Physics
  • Chemistry
  • Computers and Technology
  • Arts
  • World Languages
  • Spanish
  • French
  • German
  • Advanced Placement (AP)
  • SAT
  • Medicine
  • Law
  • Engineering
Genrish500 [490]
3 years ago
8

Describe dwarf planets and their orbits in the solar system

Biology
1 answer:
WITCHER [35]3 years ago
6 0
        Dwarf Planets<span> of Our </span>Solar System<span> (Infographic) Pluto was demoted to </span>dwarf<span> planet status in 2006, joining Eris, Haumea, Makemake and Ceres. ...

      Pluto, discovered in 1930, </span>orbits<span> the sun at an average of 39.5 times the Earth's distance. </span>Its<span> diameter is 1,430 miles (2,302 km)

</span>

Dwarf planets are worlds that are too small to be considered full-fledged planets, but too large to fall into smaller categories.

In recent years, there's been a lot of hubbub about Pluto losing its status as one of the planets of the solar system. Pluto is no longer considered the ninth planet in the series of major planetary objects, but instead is now just one of the many so-called "dwarf planets." The debate started anew after the New Horizons mission passed by Pluto in 2015, revealing a world of surprising geological complexity. As of 2017, delegates from the mission are trying to get Pluto's planethood status back. 

Astronomers estimate that there could be as many as 200 dwarf planets in the solar system and the Kuiper Belt. But the differences between planets and dwarf planets may not be obvious at first. 

Dwarf planets of the solar system

The International Astronomical Union defines a planet as being in orbit around the sun, has enough gravity to pull its mass into a rounded shape (hydrostatic equilibrium), and has cleared its orbit of other, smaller objects. This last criterion is the point at which planets and dwarf planets differ. A planet's gravity either attracts or pushes away the smaller bodies that would otherwise intersect its orbit; the gravity of a dwarf planet is not sufficient to make this happen. [Meet the Dwarf Planets of the Solar System]

<span><span>Meet the dwarf planets of our solar system, Pluto Eris, Haumea, Makemake and Ceres.Credit: Karl Tate, SPACE.com contributor</span></span>

As of 2014, the IAU recognizes five named dwarf planets: Ceres, Pluto, Eris, Haumea, and Makemake. But those aren't the only ones. Other solar system bodies that are possibly dwarf planets include Sedna and Quaoar, small worlds far beyond Pluto's orbit, and 2012 VP113, an object that is thought to have one of the most distant orbits found beyond the known edge of our solar system. The object DeeDee could also be a dwarf planet, according to observations made in 2017. According to NASA, scientists think that there may be more than a hundred dwarf planets awaiting discovery.

However, the debate over the status of dwarf planets, particularly Pluto, remains a hot topic. The primary concern stems from the requirement for a planet to clear out its local neighborhood.

"In no other branch of science am I familiar with something that absurd," New Horizons principle investigator Alan Stern told Space.com in 2011. "A river is a river, independent of whether there are other rivers nearby. In science, we call things what they are based on their attributes, not what they're next to."

Is a dwarf planet a separate entity from a planet, or simply another classification? The question may not be settled in the near future.

You might be interested in
Erythrocytes neurons skeletal and columnar fellas are examples of _____ cells.
oksian1 [2.3K]
Erythrocytes, neurons, skeletal cells, and columnar cells are examples of: specialized cells.
3 0
3 years ago
Read 2 more answers
In pea plants, tall plants (T) are dominant to short plants (t). If two heterozygous (Tt) individuals are crossed, what percent
nydimaria [60]

Answer:

1

Explanation:

          T                t

T       TT               Tt

t         Tt                tt

8 0
3 years ago
Hey um please help me before 3:00pm <br> the air and sky is earth's what?
kotegsom [21]

Answer:

The atmosphere

Explanation:

4 0
3 years ago
Carbohydrates
Fynjy0 [20]

Answer:

I hope this helps

Explanation:

Carbonhydrates gives you energy to work and play

7 0
2 years ago
What is not a primary cause of eroding rock?
Artemon [7]
Wind because its not mechanically eroding them..
4 0
3 years ago
Read 2 more answers
Other questions:
  • The __________ filter drugs out of the bloodstream and convert them to inactive chemicals.
    6·1 answer
  • Through which of the following do sperm cells travel to reach the urethra? Epididymis Vas deferens Penis Testes
    6·2 answers
  • Which of the following best describes how galaxies exist in the universe
    15·2 answers
  • Which part of the membrane would help and large protein molecule enter the cell
    12·2 answers
  • Use lysosome in a sentence
    10·2 answers
  • What kind cell has chromosomes like this
    6·1 answer
  • Chymotrypsin is a digestive enzyme that breaks down proteins in the small intestine. A student runs a computer simulation of chy
    12·1 answer
  • What term is used to describe a solution of lower osmolarity compared to one with a higher osmolarity?
    12·1 answer
  • If the entire rabbit population were killed by disease and died off, what will happen to the wolf population over time?
    7·2 answers
  • E. coli is a species of bacteria that causes many different infections in humans. certain e. coli strains have developed resista
    12·1 answer
Add answer
Login
Not registered? Fast signup
Signup
Login Signup
Ask question!