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Difference between revisions of "Pluto"
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[[File:Pluto.jpg|thumb|Pluto's symbols]] | [[File:Pluto.jpg|thumb|Pluto's symbols]] | ||
'''Pluto''' (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of bodies beyond the orbit of [[Neptune]]. It was the first and the largest Kuiper belt object to be discovered. After Pluto was discovered in 1930, it was declared to be the ninth planet from the Sun. Beginning in the 1990s, its status as a planet was questioned following the discovery of several objects of similar size in the Kuiper belt and the scattered disc, including the dwarf planet Eris. This led the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 2006 to formally define the term planet—excluding Pluto and reclassifying it as a dwarf planet. | '''Pluto''' (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of bodies beyond the orbit of [[Neptune]]. It was the first and the largest Kuiper belt object to be discovered. After Pluto was discovered in 1930, it was declared to be the ninth planet from the [[Sun]]. | ||
Beginning in the 1990s, its status as a planet was questioned following the discovery of several objects of similar size in the Kuiper belt and the scattered disc, including the dwarf planet Eris. This led the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 2006 to formally define the term planet—excluding Pluto and reclassifying it as a dwarf planet. | |||
The symbol for Pluto is based on a combination of initials. The “P” represents Pluto the Roman god, and the “L” signifies Lowell, for the Lowell Observatory where it was first to discovered. | The symbol for Pluto is based on a combination of initials. The “P” represents Pluto the Roman god, and the “L” signifies Lowell, for the Lowell Observatory where it was first to discovered. | ||