Talk:Dwarf planet

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	Dwarf planet is a featured article; it (or a previous version of it) has been identified as one of the best articles produced by the Wikipedia community. Even so, if you can update or improve it, please do.
Article milestones Date Process Result January 27, 2008 Peer review Reviewed January 28, 2008 Good article nominee Listed February 20, 2008 Featured article candidate Promoted This article was on the Article Collaboration and Improvement Drive for the week of January 2, 2008. Current Status: Featured article

For the discussion on developing a strategy for naming dwarf planet articles, please see Talk:Dwarf planet/Naming

It is requested that a map or maps be included in this article to improve its quality.

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[edit] Map request

A plot of the orbits of the known dwarf planets would be helpful. -- Beland (talk) 08:44, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Pluto

I belive that Pluto... STILL IS FREAKING A PLANET!! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.32.5.212 (talk) 21:36, 21 February 2008 (UTC)

I guess it depends on what you mean by planet. Planets are planets, but the mid-sized dwarf planets and the smaller minor planets (AKA asteroids) are not planets by the current definition, even though they have "planet" in their name. Confused yet?

When Pluto was first discovered, it was thought to be larger than Mars and was thus categorized as a planet...but it turned out to be an icy body (high albedo) and thus was much smaller than the other planets, although still much larger than the asteroids. Then the Kuiper belt (sort of an asteroid/comet belt at the edge of the solar system) was discovered, and Pluto was labeled a Kuiper Belt Object. Still a planet? Then Eris (AKA Xena) was discovered, and suddenly there were ten planets...or perhaps eight.

If Pluto was as large as was originally thought, it would definitely be a planet. As it is, it's smaller than the other planets and much bigger than non-spherical asteroids (AKA the "minor planets." The debate on Pluto's status has been raging for some time. Twenty years ago, Isaac Asimov suggested the category of mesoplanet for objects bigger than Ceres and smaller than Mercury, which at the time would have put Pluto in its own category. With all these KBOs being discovered, however, it's likely that the register of dwarf planets will continue to grow. Arch O. La ^{Grigory Deepdelver} 18:05, 27 February 2008 (UTC)

I agree, Pluto is still a planet. Why is Wikipedia still using the discredited IAU definition of planet? There are other Astronomical organizations out there with different definition of Planet. Use a organization that is creditable. Not one that waited until only 400 people were left before taking a vote. Thats my opinion on the matter. Magnum Serpentine (talk) 14:28, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Broken reference

Perhaps someone who can edit this page could update the broken reference to "The IAU draft definition of 'planet' and 'plutons'". The new location seems to be http://www.iau.org/public_press/news/release/iau0601/

Thanks! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.142.111.14 (talk) 19:49, 16 May 2008 (UTC)

I added new link. Ruslik (talk) 08:46, 17 May 2008 (UTC)