Sentences with phrase «for planetary status»

Q7 Pluto's large moon, Charon, was briefly considered for planetary status in 2006, before Pluto itself was relegated to dwarf planet.

The International Astronomical Union defines «planet» as a celestial body that, within the Solar System that is in orbit around the Sun; has sufficient mass for its self - gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape; and has cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit; or within another system, it is in orbit around a star or stellar remnants; has a mass below the limiting mass for thermonuclear fusion of deuterium; and is above the minimum mass / size requirement for planetary status in the Solar System.

Not exact matches

But the solar winds are changing in some corners of academia, and the Harvard - Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics recently held a debate on Pluto's planetary status.

KAMUELA, Hawaii — With data collected from the mighty W. M. Keck Observatory, California Institute of Technology (Caltech) astronomer Mike Brown — known as the Pluto killer for discovering a Kuiper - belt object that led to the demotion of Pluto from planetary status — and Kevin Hand from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) have found the strongest evidence yet that salty water from the vast liquid ocean beneath Europa's frozen exterior actually makes its way to the surface.

You'll hear the thrilling launch, meet key team members as they prepare for the big moment, and hear a special status report from Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye.

For more information on the battles among astronomers concerning Pluto's planetary status, see Laurence A. Marschall and Stephen P. Maran, Pluto Confidential (Dallas, Texas: Benbella Books, Inc., 2009).