A new and improved definition for the term 'planet' will soon be proposed that would expand the title beyond the confines of solar system to include every alien world we discover. In 2006, over 2,500 ...

In 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) voted on the definition of a planet. Famously, Pluto no longer met the criteria and was demoted to a dwarf planet. Things have been a bit of a mess ...

Three astronomers last week proposed expanding the official definition of a planet to encompass worlds orbiting stars other than our own, a nuance not currently included in the formal definition of ...

January 5, 2005, is an astronomical anniversary that is not really marked but should be. It saw the discovery of dwarf planet ...

Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto in 1930; however, in 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) reclassified it as a dwarf planet, a decision sparking debate among astronomers and planetary ...

NASA's New Horizons spacecraft captured this high-resolution enhanced color view of Pluto that is inserted beneath the Short Wave logo. The image combines blue, red and infrared images taken by the ...

The International Astronomical Union defines a planet as a celestial body that orbits the sun, is massive enough that gravity has forced it into a spherical shape, and has cleared away other objects ...

Two years ago the International Astronomical Union (IAU) elected to define the term planet, restricting it to the eight largest bodies orbiting the Sun, and deleting Pluto from the list. The demotion ...

He wrote and lectured widely, often on the theme that religion and science were not incompatible. He also chased down 600 copies of Copernicus’s landmark book. By Neil Genzlinger Signs of cryovolcanic ...