Pluto Planethood Proposal Of New Horizons Rejected By 'Cosmos' Host Neil deGrasse Tyson

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Astrophysicist and "Cosmos" host Neil deGrasse Tyson is enthusiastically against the New Horizons' mission to Pluto, which is known as the dwarf planet. He expressed his opinion at "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" Wednesday, March 15 that Pluto is not a planet since its orbit intersects Neptune.

According to Space, scientists from the New Horizons are working to propose that Pluto should be considered as a planet again. "That's no kind of behavior for a planet. No!" deGrasse Tyson blurted out at the late-night show. 

"You've got to stay in your lane," Colbert responded. "Stay in your lane!" deGrasse Tyson shouted, repeating, "Stay in your lane!"

Neil deGrasse Tyson directed the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City earlier in the 2000s. He presented a new illustration depicting Pluto as an object that is similar to icy bodies in the outer space. This was collectively known as Kuiper Belt objects.

But the official demolition of Pluto was when a bustle of findings came in. California Institute of Technology astronomer Mike Brown and his team discovered numerous trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs). These similarly sized bodies were called the dwarf planet Eris and not Pluto.

According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), Pluto was disregarded in the outer solar system because it didn't meet all the three criteria. To be recognized and considered a planet, an outer space object should rotate around the sun and must be ball-shaped as well. In addition, an accepted planet must be large enough so that it could clear debris on its surroundings.

Pluto met the first two requirements but unfortunately, didn't clear the area around its orbit. However, it has the chance to be called as a planet once again since New Horizons team proposes the latest definition of planethood.

"Planet is a sub-stellar mass body that has never undergone nuclear fusion," Kirby Runyon, a Ph.D. student at the Johns Hopkins University and the representative of New Horizons said. Planet has an adequate gravitational mass to keep a nearly round shape. A protrusion at the equator is normal due to the congestion of forces of its gravity and an impact from the sun and neighboring larger planet, he added.