Why Pluto is No Longer a Planet

Part 1

Have you ever wondered why Pluto is no longer qualified as a planet? It was once classified as a planet, but it lost that title in 2006. In 2005, an astronomer believed he discovered a new planet further than Pluto. The planet, called Éris, was to be the new 10th planet in the solar system.

This caused the International Astronimical Union to feel a need to create some rules for what a planet would have to be. The decided that a planet must orbit around the sun, be heavy enough to be moved around in a sphere, and to have no other bodies around it that aren’t under its influence, such as moons.

Neither Pluto nor Éris fit this definition, and Pluto was demoted to a dwarf planet.

Part 2

This is video explains more about why Pluto is no longer a planet. To summarize, in this video the narrator explains how astronomers were faced with the decision to either add hundreds of new planets to the solar system, or to change Pluto’s status from a planet to a dwarf planet. This was a tough decision, but ultimately it was decided that Pluto would no longer be classified as a planet. I think that this was a good idea because otherwise it would cause there to be hundreds of more planets than there are now. That would be complicated and confusing.

Part 3

Now it’s time for two truths and a lie! Leave what you think the lie is in the comments!

Option 1: Pluto is now catagorized as a dwarf planet

Option 2: Pluto is a moon of Neptune

Option 3: Pluto was a planet until 2006

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