The reasons why Pluto rejected planet status are based on folklore and astrology, and need to be rethought, according to a new study. With the introduction of one of the greatest wonders of space science, the James Webb Space Telescope, scientists and researchers are optimistic about the discoveries awaiting mankind. With the expansion of the horizons of exploration in space, a team of researchers sought to revisit the formation of the definition of planets. The new study, published in Icarus, suggests that the current criterion that passes a celestial body as a planet should be repealed. It is the same criterion that led the International Astronomical Union to reject Pluto as a planet.

According to the definition, a planet must be spherical, must revolve around the sun, and must be the dominant gravitational entity in its orbit. While Pluto, which was discovered as a planet in 1930, met the first two conditions, the third condition was what revoked its status as a planetary body. The third condition was not met since Pluto was not the largest gravitational body in its orbit and shared its orbit with gases and frozen objects in the Kuiper Belt, as well as the gravitational influence of Neptune.

“There is an explosion in the number of exoplanets that we have discovered over the past 10 years. The number will only increase as we put better telescopes into space, ”said Philip Metzger, lead author of the study, in a press release. He added that the current definition needs to be corrected. A torrential amount of spatial data will need a more precise system to define the discoveries made from that data.

Researchers believe that this central idea about identifying planets is conveyed by Galileo and is incompatible with the advanced knowledge about space that we acquire today. They say that it is not the orbital scenario that defines the planet but the characteristics inherent down to the core that qualify them as planets.

Read all the latest news, breaking news and news on the coronavirus here.