Today’s History: 92 Years of Pluto’s Discovery; The ‘Dwarf Planet’ formed from the planet 16 years ago, the 11th student gave the name

Today is a very special day for astronomers. Exactly 92 years ago today, in 1930, American scientist Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto. The process of naming it is also very special. A class 11 student suggested that the god of darkness in Rome was Pluto. This planet also lives in darkness, due to which it would be correct to name it Pluto too. Well, such a name was decided and till 2006 it was counted among the 9 planets of the solar system.

Everything was going well till 1992. In the meantime, a debate arose among astronomers about Pluto. They started getting more objects like Pluto at the end of the solar system. This raised the question of whether Pluto should be considered a planet or one of the many icy objects orbiting the Sun at the tip of the Solar System. Some scientists said that Pluto is too small. Much smaller than our moon. Therefore it cannot be considered a planet.

In 2006, a meeting of the International Astronomical Union (IAU), the group naming celestial structures, took place and it was decided which should be called a planet and which was not. In the new definition, it was decided that any such celestial structure which revolves around the circular path of the Sun and keeps cleaning its surroundings. This last condition, it took away the status of a planet from Pluto. According to the IAU, Pluto is so small that it cannot remove the stones and other debris that come in its way while orbiting the Sun. Then Pluto was called the dwarf planet.

But it is not as if the search on Pluto has stopped. Even now many scientists are trying their best to prove that Pluto is a planet, not a dwarf planet. Recently a research was published in the scientific journal Icarus. It said that Pluto should not have been downgraded from the planet. Every few days some statement or study comes, which says that Pluto should be declared a planet again. The Lowell Observatory in Arizona, where Clyde Tombaugh discovered this planet, celebrated the Pluto Festival from February 13 to 18 this year as well. Virtual activities took place in this and many astronomers and scientists reiterated that the time has come to declare Pluto a planet again.

Other big events of the country and the world on February 18-

2014: The resolution for the formation of the 29th state of the country as Telangana by bifurcating Andhra Pradesh was passed in the Lok Sabha.

2006: India’s first bird flu case reported in Maharashtra’s poultry farm.

2001: A massive bomb blast took place in the Samjhauta Express going from Delhi to Lahore, in which 68 people died.

1999: Agreement on bus service between Bangladesh and India.

1979: The US gave a check of Rs 1,664 crore to India, which is considered to be the largest check in the world.

1979: The first and ever recorded snow fell in the Sahara Desert.

1971: India established first satellite connectivity with Britain through Arvi satellite station.

1965: The Gambia got independence from British rule.

1946: There was a mutiny in the Royal Indian Navy (Navy) in Mumbai.

1911: For the first time, the work of delivering mail by plane was done in India.

1905: Shyamji Krishnavarma founded the India Home Rule Society in London.

1883: Birth of Indian revolutionary Madan Lal Dhingra.

1836: Birth of Ramakrishna Paramhansa alias Gadadhar Chatterjee, the guru of the great saint and thinker Swami Vivekananda.

1614: Jahangir captured Mewar.

1486: Birth of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, one of the prominent sages of Bhakti period.