Bazsites.com Dwarf Planets
Directory Topics
On the Web
- New Horizons: Is Pluto a Planet? - Brief discussion of the controversy, and suggested classification of "Ice Dwarf" for Pluto, Charon, Sedna, and similar objects.
- SciZone - Ontario Science Centre: Pluto: Planet or Not? - Brief nontechnical introduction to Pluto and similar objects such as Sedna and Quaoar, and a summary of the features that make Pluto different than the other planets. Includes a capsule summary of the arguments for and against calling Pluto a planet.
- Yes, Pluto Really is a Planet - Argues that no commonly-accepted category fits it better. Includes a proposed definition of planet, and a list of known objects meeting it. From Lowell Observatory astronomer Marc W. Buie.
- SPACE.com: Pluto's Planet Status Could be Jeopardized by Sedna Discovery - Discusses the ongoing debate over the definition of the term "planet", and suggests that if Pluto should be considered a planet, so should Sedna and similar bodies.
- When Is a Planet Not a Planet? - Articles discusses the debate whether Pluto should be included among the planets. [Atlantic Monthly]
- Wikipedia - Eris (Dwarf Planet) - Article describes the discovery and characteristics of the object and its place in the solar system.
- National Geographic News: Pluto: Planet or Comet? - Discusses Pluto's similarity to other Kuiper Belt objects, and introduces a 5-way classification scheme for solar system objects to break down the lumping together of dissimilar planets.
- Astronomer Upset at New Planet Proposal - Washington Post article describes Michael Brown's disagreement with a proposal to expand the definition of a planet to include, among others, his own discovery.
- What is a Planet - Reviews newly-discovered objects that stretch the definition of the term, including massive superjupiters, free-floating planets, and other exoplanets. Suggests a definition based on the way an object is formed. From astronomer Gibor Basri.
- The Planet Pluto - Pictures, quizzes and information about the planet and Charon.
Wikipedia Articles
- Table of planets and dwarf planets in the Solar System - A table summarizing features of the planets and dwarf planets in the Solar System.
- Geology of solar terrestrial planets - The geology of solar terrestrial planet mainly deals with the geological aspects of four planets of the Solar system namely, Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars and one terrestrial dwarf planet, Ceres. Objects like Pluto are similar to terrestrial planets in the fact that they do have a solid surface, but are composed of more icy materials (see Ice dwarf).
- List of planetary bodies - This table lists the Solar System's planetary bodies, which include planets, dwarf planets and planetary-sized moons Bodies that are large enough that their shape is determined by gravity, as per the criterion for distinguishing between dwarf planets and small solar system bodies. They are mostly larger than 1000 km in diameter.
- Habitability of red dwarf systems - Determining the habitability of red dwarf systems could help reveal how likely extraterrestrial life is to exist, as red dwarfs make up a majority of all the stars in the galaxy. Critical factors assumed to be impediments to habitablity include relatively little energy output and thus reduced habitable zones, the probability of tidally locked planets, and high stellar variation.
- Planetary-size comparison - The Solar System consists of the Sun and the other celestial objects gravitationally bound to it: the eight planets, their 165 known moons, three currently identified dwarf planets (Ceres, Eris, and Pluto) and their four known moons, and billions of small bodies. This last category includes asteroids, Kuiper belt objects, comets, meteoroids, and interplanetary dust.