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Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the Sun. It is the largest known trans-Neptunian object by volume, by a small margin, but is less massive than Eris.
Pluto is grey, Orcus is red, and Neptune is the white (stationary) dot at 5 o'clock. Uranus is blue, Saturn yellow, and Jupiter red. Orbits and sizes of the larger plutinos (and the reference non-plutino 2002 KX 14 ).
In a draft resolution for the IAU definition of planet, both Pluto and Charon were considered planets in a binary system. [20] [c] The IAU currently says Charon is not considered a dwarf planet but rather a satellite of Pluto, though the idea that Charon might qualify as a dwarf planet may be considered at a later date. [96]
For 76 years, Pluto was considered out solar system's ninth planet. So what caused it to lose its planetary status? Find out on this episode of "Space, Down to Earth"!
For the small outer irregular moons of Uranus, such as Sycorax, which were not discovered by the Voyager 2 flyby, even different NASA web pages, such as the National Space Science Data Center [6] and JPL Solar System Dynamics, [5] give somewhat contradictory size and albedo estimates depending on which research paper is being cited.
[39] [40] Like the asteroid belt, it consists mainly of small bodies (remnants from the Solar System's formation) and at least one dwarf planet—Pluto, which may be geologically active. [41] But while the asteroid belt is composed primarily of rock and metal, the Kuiper belt is composed largely of ices, such as methane, ammonia, and water.
Pluto was considered a planet up until 2006, when researchers at the International Astronomical Union voted to "demote" it to dwarf planet.
Kepler-37e is listed with a radius of 0.37 ± 0.18 R 🜨 in the Exoplanet Archive based on KOI data, but the existence of this planet is doubtful, [22] and assuming its existence, a 2023 study found a mass of 8.1 ± 1.7 M 🜨, inconsistent with such a small radius. [23]