Welcome to Plutoids

Ok.
My Three Ha-Pence worth:

Old Planets:
The classical system up to the dawning of the Space Age.
Subdivisions:
Terrestrial Planets, Gas Giants, Ice Giants, Minor Planets(also known as Asteroids.)
The minor planet cut-off point might be decided as: “Smaller than Pluto” or perhaps “Pluto and smaller.”.


New Planets:
Discoveries since the dawn of the Space Age.
Subdivisions:
To be decided as facts emerge.

No ugly "Plutoids" in my simple system.

P.S.

Soon they will be asking:

Is Pluto a Plutoid?

Give me a Whiskey............make it a double!

This whole debate is getting dafter.

What they have decided on is:

Plutoids are celestial bodies in orbit around the Sun at a distance greater than that of Neptune that have sufficient mass for their self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that they assume a hydrostatic equilibrium (near-spherical) shape, and that have not cleared the neighbourhood around their orbit.

So the only differences between a planet and a plutoid is that plutoids are:
* beyond Neptune and
* has not cleared it orbit.

Seems like a fudge to make the planet definition seem practical. Afterall if Pluto hasn't cleared its orbit then Neptune can't have either. But plutoids must be beyond Neptune. If anything the IAU has now painted itself into a situation where Neptune needs reclassification!

I can't see who all this classification is actually benefiting. It's certainly not helping us amateurs who find ourselves trying to explain to people why some things are planets and some aren't - I've met a 12 year old who found problems with the IAU definition!

Plutoid, sounds like a complaint you should see the doctor about :lol:

Plutoid, sounds like a complaint you should see the doctor about :lol:

Now Paul, take this Preparation P and apply twice a day...

Yes, I agree. Plutoid is a stupid name for a minor planet. Having a word that is named after a minor planet and then calling other minor planets 'Plutoids'.

You may as well call minor planets 'Erisoids' after Eris. However I dont think that it would stick.