Why “Pluto” is being discussed
The most recent Hacker News stories and comments contributing to this topic's mentions.
That was quite funny. I think my point is that terms are not always as precise as people think they are. As others have stated, there appears to be some kind of spectrum. Some o…
by nephihaha · Sep 1, 2026
I really think dwarf planet is a fine classification. Pluto is a planet, just a really small one. Same with Eris and the other planets in the Kuiper Belt. I don’t know why the p…
by kanemcgrath · Sep 1, 2026
It is emotional reasoning to want Pluto to be an exception to an otherwise universal definition, because the reason for the exception are the emotions of some people . Picking a…
by Timon3 · Sep 1, 2026
Why would a change today be such a violation of a sacred concept, when Pluto was added not even a century ago? If anything, it seems like the scientists back then had a god comp…
by Timon3 · Sep 1, 2026
The thing is, there is no real evidence to back up the classification. The assignment between words and objects is arbitrary. A consistent definition for "planet" can be given a…
by fluoridation · Sep 1, 2026
If the IAU had any sense they would have made Ceres a planet instead of axing Pluto. These decisions should be made in a way that makes funding exploratory missions as easy to s…
by mhabe · Sep 1, 2026
Interest
Proportion of Hacker News items mentioning "pluto" over time.
Mentions
Total number of Hacker News items mentioning "pluto" over time.
Pluto is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the Sun. It is the largest known trans-Neptunian object by volume by a small margin, but is less massive than Eris. Like other Kuiper belt objects, Pluto is made primarily of ice and rock and is much smaller than the inner planets. Pluto has roughly one-sixth the mass of the Moon and one-third of its volume. Originally considered a planet, its status was changed when astronomers adopted a new definition of the word with new criteria. Read more on Wikipedia