Since we were children, we were taught certain things about our solar system. That the sun is at its center of 9 orbiting planets, that the Earth is the third planet, and that Jupiter is the largest and Pluto is the smallest. That all came to a change, when in 2006, the ninth and farthest planet of Pluto, was reclassified as a satellite and not a planet. Not only did this have an effect on basic school teachings about our solar system, but it also changed how we viewed objects in space and how to classify them.
But now scientists are looking to restore Pluto back to being a planet in a recent campaign. The campaign wants to broaden the official astronomical classifications that had led to the declassification of the tiny ice planet more than a decade ago. The declassification occurred when the International Astronomical Union discovered a new heavenly body beyond Pluto, and adopted a new classification based on the characteristics of the object, including clearing other objects from its path in orbit.
But the paper that has been released recently, scientists have proposed that an object’s geological properties, such as its surface, its shape, and its overall mass should determine what classifies it as a planet. Although many have agreed to the proposals of the paper, many are skeptical that the AUI will take it into consideration. Mostly because if the changes proposed are made, then Pluto and 110 other bodies in our solar system will be reclassified as planet, including our very own moon.