Pluto is a Dwarf Planet
Isn’t that just terrible? One of our precious 9 planets is no longer considered a planet! When did that happen you ask? Way back in 2006. Since then, time and gain, there have been rumors regarding the restoration of its planetary status. But none of them are true. Pluto will never be a planet again. Why not, you ask?
In order to be classified as a Planet, the body must
- Orbit around the sun.
- Have enough mass so that its own gravity overcomes the rigid body forces and it assumes a spherical shape.
- Have a clear neighborhood, in its orbit around the sun,
Pluto is not a Planet because
- Pluto is a relatively round body, and also orbits the sun, but crossing Neptune’s orbit! Not very planet friendly!
- Being so small, it cannot clear its path and hence has a very busy neighborhood, thereby violating the definition of a planet.
According to the new definition of a planet which was coined in 2006, Pluto was demoted to the status of a dwarf planet!
Planet or not, we still love you Pluto!
3 Pluto Fun Facts
- Recent discoveries show that Pluto is the biggest of the dwarf planets.
- It is also called the “King of the Kuiper Belt”
- It is also one half of the first “Binary Planetary Sytem’, the other half being its biggest moon, Charon.
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- Exoplanets : Facts and Information
Very easy question