"When I Was Your Age" T-Shirt
Remember Pluto's glory days with this witty tee! This "When I was Your Age, Pluto was a Planet" tee is sure to delight all those who still use:
OR
"Men Very Easily Make Jugs Serve Useful Needs, Perhaps"
to remember the planets.
Details:
Materials: 50% Cotton, 50% Polyester
Did you know...
Pluto was discovered at Lowell Observatory by Clyde Tombaugh on February 18th, 1930 and became recognized as the 9th planet shortly afterwards. However, as we began to learn more about our solar system, scientists began to question Pluto's planetary status. The great planet debate came to a head in 2006 and Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet on the 13th of September by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). There are 5 recognized dwarf planets currently: Ceres, Pluto, Haumea, Makemake, and Eris. Scientists believe there may be over 100 waiting to be discovered.
So what is a planet then?
According to the IAU, planets are defined by three features:
1. The object must be in orbit around the Sun.
2. The object must be massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity. More specifically, its own gravity should pull it into a shape defined by hydrostatic equilibrium.
3. It must have cleared the neighborhood around its orbit.
Pluto fails to do the third, as it's mass is not great enough to do so. However, what classifies objects like Pluto has been a long standing debate, and like all things, science changes as we learn more.
Does Lowell Observatory astronomers still research Pluto?
Sure! Will Grundy is a co-investigator on NASA’s New Horizons mission that encountered the Pluto system for the first time in 2015. He heads the mission’s surface composition science theme team, working to learn more about the dwarf planet's makeup.
Are we sad about what happened to Pluto?
Some of us. Do you think Pluto deserves a recount?
Sources:
NASA - https://www.nasa.gov/
IAU - https://www.iau.org/
Lowell Observatory - https://lowell.edu/