Is Neptune Next?

Is Neptune next? Will Neptune be the next planet to be demoted to Dwarf Planet status like Pluto? The International Astronomical Union (IAU) at their 2006 contentious conference in Prague recently downgraded Pluto. U.S. Astronomer Clyde Tombaugh first discovered Pluto in 1930.

According to the new IAU planetary definition, a planet is a celestial body that is in orbit around the sun, has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a nearly round shape, and has cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit. Pluto does not pass the last requirement because its orbit crosses into Neptune’s. However, by that very fact, Neptune also does not meet the requirement since it clearly does not clear Pluto from its orbit.