Dwarf planet – Is Pluto the only one?
Recommended for Middle Grades
Pluto used to be one of the 9 planets in the solar system. Now, it is known as a dwarf planet.
In 2006, Pluto was categorized as a ‘dwarf planet’ along with four other objects in the solar system (that are about the same size) – Ceres, Makemake, Eris and Haumea. These dwarf planets are much smaller than the 8 main planets.
Pluto is a relatively round body. It orbits the Sun, crossing Neptune’s orbit. Being so small, it cannot clear its path and is surrounded by many other objects nearby. That’s also why it is now a “dwarf planet”, rather than a “planet”.
Pluto orbits in a far-out region of the solar system called the Kuiper Belt. This belt, which is beyond Neptune, has trillions of icy objects. But they are so far from the Sun and are really hard to see, even with powerful telescopes.
Ceres orbits in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Makemake, like Pluto, is part of the Kuiper Belt. Eris’s orbit is even farther out.
On 19 January 2006, NASA launched a robot spacecraft called New Horizons to study Pluto. It arrived at Pluto in July 2015. It will continue to study other objects in the Kuiper Belt till 2022.
There are many more interesting informational and news articles on space for all you kids. We have news and stories on stars, telescopes, galaxies, planets, exoplanets, black holes and much more. Or how about learning more about NASA, CNSA, ISS, ALMA etc. ? Well, keep reading our space news for children on Curious Times. And of course, keep your curiosity sky high!
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