A Universe of Questions

Pluto:If it is no longer a planet, then what is it?

What is Pluto?

Pluto was discovered on February 18,1930 by Clyde Tombaugh. Pluto is considered the ninth and most distant from the sun, it is now known as a dwarf planet. Pluto is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of bodies beyond Neptune. It was the first Kuiper belt object to be discovered. Pluto has 5 moons, Charon, Hydra, Nix, Styx and Kerberos.

What is a Dwarf Planet?

A dwarf planet is a celestial body that orbits the sun. It has enough mass to assume a nearly round shape. It has also not cleared the neighborhood around its orbit and it is not a moon. The main distinction between a dwarf planet and a planet is that planets have cleared the path around the sun while dwarf planets tend to orbit in zones of similar objects that can cross their path around the sun, such as the asteroid and Kuiper Belts. Dwarf planets also are generally smaller than the planet Mercury. 

The first five recognized dwarf planets are Ceres, Pluto, Eris, Makemake and Haumea. Scientists believe there may be dozens or even more than 100 dwarf planets awaiting discovery.

Why is Pluto no longer considered to be a Planet?

The reason why Pluto is no longer considered a Planet is because it only follows 2 of the 3 rules of being a planet. Which is rather stupid in my opinion. But that's my opinion. 

The rules are as follows:

• A planet must be round.
• A planet must orbit the sun
• A planet must have cleared the neighborhood or it's orbit. This means as a planet travels , its gravity sweeps and clears the space around it of other objects. Some of the objects may crash into the planet, others may become moons.

Fun Facts about Pluto:

• Pluto is the size of the moon
• It takes approximately 248 Earth years for Pluto to make one trip around the sun. Since astronomers discovered Pluto in 1930, it has not completed one trip around the sun. It still has more than 150 Earth years to go.
• Pluto is so far away that it takes more than five hours for light from the sun to reach it. The suns light takes just 8 minutes to get to Earth.
• Pluto is smaller than Earth's Moon.

StoryTime- Imagination

    As I walked towards the house, it got scarier and scarier. I was so tired, I just wanted to go to sleep. But, first I had to explore this old scary run down house. It used to belong to my Great Great Grandfather and now it belongs to my Aunt and Uncle. But sadly my Uncle passed away. That's why I came, to see if my Aunt was ok since the accident. But she is crazy, I can't believe that she still lives here. Like I said before it is old, scary and completely broken. The windows had shattered  and the glass was all scattered around the front of the house. I walked closer to get a better look. I opened the old beaten door, it creaked as I walked inside. the door slammed behind me. " Aunt Elise" I called, no reply. I walked further into the house. "Aunt Elise" I called, still no reply. The floorboards creaked as I walked. I was getting the chills. There was a long dark hallway to my left which I suspect was the way up to the upper level and the attic. To my right was the kitchen, dining room and lounge. I walked towards the lounge, when I heard something, the sound of someone talking. I went round the corner and said "Aunt Elise, are you there it's you sister's daughter Michelle" but, there was no reply. I walked further round the corner and to my surprise it was just the T.V. But then I thought Aunt Elise never leaves the T.V running unless she was watching the T.V, There was something suspicious. I walked towards the mantelpiece, there was a old picture it looked like it was an old family photo of my parents,my aunts and uncles and my grandparents. Beside the old photo, there was an old computer. I opened the lid and the computer started up a video. It looked like a youngish women probably about 35 years old. The lady started to talk " Hello Michelle, do you remember me", " No, who are you and how do you know my name" I replied, " I am your dear Aunt Elise, now next to the computer you will find a key, this key opens the front door to the house, I would suggest that you take this key and get out of this house before I kill you" and the video was gone. I closed the lid and thought about what she had said, what if there was no key I would just wait here and die.Suddenly I heard a creak of the stairs. Aunt Elise must be coming down the stairs. I thought quickly, I grabbed the key and ran for a cupboard. I saw Aunt Elise's shadow coming towards the mantelpiece, she was holding a dagger by her side. I heard her whisper " Very clever Michelle". She passed the cupboard, that I was hiding in. She walked up towards the bathroom. I had my chance I opened the door to the cupboard and ran, I didn't stop. I got to the door got the key. The lock was really rusty and old, I stuck the key into the lock and turned the key. Thank God! The door opened and I ran............. I got to the edge of the old woods and then  I heard Aunt Elise scream. It pierced through the air like a bullet. I grabbed my phone and dialled 111. The police and the ambulance got there and they arrested Aunt Elise. Just before Aunt Elise got in the police car she said something " You will pay for this Michelle you will and she was gone. The police came and told me that I did the right thing. The ambulance also came to check on me, they said that I had a deep cut on my leg and arm they also said that I would have to go to hospital to get fixed up.

                                          The End!!!!!!!!!!!