- Pluto used to be classified as the ninth planet in our solar system,
- but in 2006 it was reclassified as a "dwarf planet" by the International Astronomical Union (IAU).
- The reason for this reclassification was that new discoveries had led to a better understanding of the characteristics and distribution of objects in our solar system.
- One of the criteria for being classified as a planet is that the object must have "cleared its orbit" of other debris, meaning that it is the dominant gravitational force in its orbit.
- Pluto's orbit crosses with those of other large objects in the Kuiper Belt, a region of the solar system beyond the orbit of Neptune, so it does not meet this criterion.
- While Pluto is no longer considered a planet in the traditional sense, it is still an important and interesting object in our solar system.
- It has five known moons, a highly eccentric orbit, and a unique composition that sets it apart from the other planets.
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