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The timeline of discovery of Solar System planets and their natural satellites charts the progress of the discovery of new bodies over history. Each object is listed in chronological order of its discovery (multiple dates occur when the moments of imaging, observation, and publication differ), identified through its various designations (including temporary and permanent schemes), and the ...
2006 – The 26th General Assembly of the IAU voted in favor of a revised definition of a planet [234] and officially declared Ceres, Pluto, and Eris dwarf planets. [235] [236] 2007 – Dwarf planet Gonggong, a large KBO, was discovered by Megan Schwamb, M. Brown, and D. Rabinowitz. [237] 2008 – The IAU declares Makemake and Haumea dwarf planets.
A dwarf planet is a small planetary-mass object that is in direct orbit around the Sun, massive enough to be gravitationally rounded, but insufficient to achieve orbital dominance like the eight classical planets of the Solar System. The prototypical dwarf planet is Pluto, which for decades was regarded as a planet before the "dwarf" concept ...
He discovered Pluto in 1930, the first object to be discovered in what would later be identified as the Kuiper belt. At the time of discovery, Pluto was considered the ninth planet, but was reclassified as a dwarf planet in 2006. Tombaugh also discovered many asteroids, and called for the serious scientific research of unidentified flying objects.
2005 — Spitzer Space Telescope data confirm what had been considered likely since the early 1990s from radio telescope data, i.e., that the Milky Way Galaxy is a barred spiral galaxy. [14] [15] [16] 2012 — Astronomers report the discovery of the most distant dwarf galaxy yet found, approximately 10 billion light-years away. [17]
[8] [9] Pisces VII is the first Local Group galaxy to be discovered by a non-professional astronomer. [10] [11] Donatiello II dwarf galaxy imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope. Also in 2021, the discovery of three new satellites of the spiral galaxy NGC 253 was announced. [12] These three new dwarf galaxies were named Donatiello II, III and IV ...
The concept of human exploration of dwarf planets has intrigued scientists since Pluto's discovery in 1930. Despite the vast distances and significant challenges, advancements in space technology could make such endeavors possible. Colonizing dwarf planets offers potential economic benefits due to the presence of rare and valuable ores. [23]
He has been referred to by himself and by others as the man who "killed Pluto", [3] [4] [5] because he furthered Pluto's being downgraded to a dwarf planet in the aftermath of his discovery of Eris and several other probable trans-Neptunian dwarf planets. He is the author of How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming, published in 2010.