Why Isn't Pluto a Planet Anymore? - ScienceNerds

Why Pluto is no longer a Planet Anymore?

why Pluto is not a Planet

Pluto was discovered by US astronomer Clyde Tombaugh in 1930, who was using the Lowell Observatory in Arizona.

When Pluto was discovered, it had been named the ninth planet of the system . quite seventy-five years later, that planetary status was revoked and Pluto was demoted to a dwarf planet. many of us were left wondering what changed, and what the difference was between a planet and a dwarf planet.

The controversy began when astronomers discovered other icy bodies out beyond Neptune's orbit, during a region called the Kuiper Belt. the talk only intensified when objects approaching Pluto's size were discovered. In, an object called Eris was discovered, which seemed to be larger than Pluto.

Some people wanted Eris recognized because of the tenth planet. Others argued that so many objects similar to Pluto in the same area of space meant that Pluto was not a planet, but some new kind of object. In, the International Astronomical Union formed a committee to decide once and for all what characteristics qualified an object to be called a planet. According to the committee, a planet must orbit around the Sun, have enough mass to pull itself into a round or nearly round shape, and have cleared its orbit of other objects and debris.

Pluto met the primary two guidelines, but not the third, meaning it couldn't be considered a planet. The term dwarf planet was created for objects that orbit the Sun and have enough mass to pull themselves into mostly round shapes but have not cleared their orbits of other objects. Currently, five objects in the solar system are classified as dwarf planets – Pluto, Eris, Ceres, Haumea, and Make– and it is likely that more will be discovered.

~sciencefreak