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by The United Planets of The Plutonian Empire. . 14 reads.

The Definition of Planet

The Definition of Astronomical Objects

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Pluto was re-promoted back to planet after the
TPE forcibly dissolved the IAU in 2184, and
was subsequently terraformed.


Definitions:

  • Asteroid:
    - Orbit: Heliocentric or circum-multiple orbit
    around one or more stars.
    - Size: Between 0 to 100 km in radius.
    - Mass: N/A.
    - Composition: Solid, liquid, gaseous,
    or frozen elements or volatiles.

  • Comet:
    - Orbit: N/A.
    - Size: N/A.
    - Mass: N/A.
    - Composition: Solid, liquid, gaseous,
    or frozen elements and volatiles;
    volatiles are enough to produce a
    coma and 1 or more tails.

  • Dwarf Planet:
    - Orbit: Heliocentric or circum-multiple orbit
    around one or more stars.
    - Size: Between 100 to 1000 km in radius.
    - Mass: N/A.
    - Composition: Solid, liquid, gaseous,
    or frozen elements or volatiles.

  • Planet:
    - Orbit: Heliocentric or circum-multiple orbit
    around one or more stars.
    - Size: Begins at 1000 km in radius with no
    defined upper limit.
    - Mass: No defined lower limit, ends at 13
    Jupiter Masses OR ends at the beginning
    of deuterium fusion.
    - Composition: Solid, liquid, gaseous,
    or frozen elements or volatiles.

  • Dwarf Moon:
    - Orbit: Parent object is 1 or more asteroids,
    dwarf planets, or planets.
    - Size: 0 to 100 km in radius.
    - Mass: No defined lower limit, ends when
    the mass and orbital distance is high
    enough to bring the barycenter permanently
    above the parent object's surface.
    - Composition: Solid, liquid, gaseous,
    or frozen elements or volatiles.

  • Moon:
    - Orbit: Parent object is 1 or more
    asteroids, dwarf planets, or planets.
    - Size: Begins at 100 km in radius,
    no defined upper limit.
    - Mass: No defined lower limit, ends when
    the mass and orbital distance is high
    enough to bring the barycenter permanently
    above the parent object's surface.
    - Composition: Solid, liquid, gaseous,
    or frozen elements or volatiles.

  • Brown Dwarf:
    - Orbit: N/A.
    - Size: N/A.
    - Mass: Begins at either 13 Jupiter
    masses OR at the beginning of deuterium
    fusion, ends at the beginning of hydrogen
    fusion OR at 80 Jupiter Masses.
    - Composition: Solid, liquid, gaseous,
    or frozen elements, volatiles, or plasma.

  • Star:
    - Orbit: N/A.
    - Size: N/A.
    - Mass: Begins at the beginning of
    hydrogen fusion OR 80 Jupiter Masses,
    ends when light can no longer reach
    escape velocity.
    - Composition: Plasma or gaseous plasma
    of any elements or volatiles of any amount
    of compression.


The Definition of "Planet" in The Plutonian Empire

For the first two centuries of the third millennium, the definition of what exactly constituted a planet was a point of heated contention in the astronomical community on Earth before the biosphere's eventual collapse. Granted it wasn't always this way.

In ancient pre-industrial times, humanity identified planets as "wandering stars," points of lights in the night sky that slowly moved amongst the stationary "fixed" stars, changing position slightly each day, seemingly orbiting the Earth. For most of human history until the invention of the telescope in the 17th century, this was the accepted definition.

After the advent of telescopes, the planets of Sol went from points of light to tiny discs in the sky, and previous theories that the planets orbited the sun instead were proven, but not without drama, as religous and authority figures of the time refused to give up on false beliefs that were becoming increasingly outdated.

As early astronomers scoured the sky, they eventually started discovering new planets, starting with the largest objects in what is now known as the asteroid belt, and the outer ice giants. Vesta, Juno, Ceres, and Pallas were originally believed to be of planetary scale as well, before additional observations of their sizes and orbital environments proved otherwise. The last new planet to be discovered in orbit around Sol in the 2nd millenium was Pluto in 1930. Pluto kept its status until 2006 when voter fraud in the IAU (International Astronomer's Union) led to its demotion based on false, fabricated, and unscientific assumptions.

However, the 2006 false vote in the IAU did create a new object class named dwarf planet that would eventually prove useful as a transitionary class between Asteroid and Planet, which was not without problems.

After the publicized discovery of Belle Hades in 2049 in Delta Trianguli, it was subsequently revealed that Belle Hades shared its orbit with an asteroid belt that was supernaturally being held in place by an unknown force. Because "planet" was still required by the IAU to have cleared its orbit, the IAU labelled Belle Hades as a dwarf planet despite its size, habitability, characteristics (5469.6462 km radius, 0.61 Earth masses, oceans, worldwide tropical jungle, and alien homeworld), and in deliberate defiance of the Belle Hadeans' protests. While this yet again re-ignited heated debates on this issue of planetary classification, the IAU doubled down on its decision and prohibited any further discourse on the subject. The IAU also promised punishments with extreme prejudice for those who refused to obey this directive.

It wasn't until the IAU was forcibly dissolved by the Plutonian Empire in 2184 that the definitions were changed again one last time, to what they currently remain as. This change included removing the requirement for planets to clear their orbit, resulting in Pluto, Eris, and Belle Hades having restored planet status.

The United Planets of The Plutonian Empire

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