Most people know the dwarf planet Pluto. But, what does it take to be a dwarf planet?
How was pluto named? Pluto was discovered in 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh. In England, Venetia Burney named Pluto when they were an 11 year old. The name was based of a Roman god.
The space craft “New Horizons” is studying Pluto and this spacecraft was launched January 19,2006. On Pluto they found lots of ice and glaciers. Pluto has 5 moons, with the mission scientists got to see the 5 moons in more detail.
Dwarf planets and regular plants are different, but in what way? Well, a dwarf planet orbits around the sun just like regular planets. But, what makes them different from regular planets is that the planets path has lots of stuff like asteroids.
What does it take to be a dwarf planet? A dwarf planets orbit has lots of objects like asteroids in its path. To be a dwarf planet the planet is not able to clear the debris from their path. Also, the planet has to have a mostly round shape. Pluto used to be a regular planet, then later Pluto was classified as a dwarf planet because it met this criteria.
Now,life on Pluto is super unlikely. Pluto is very cold because the dwarf planet is very far away from the sun. Under the ice, the interior of pluto more warm.
Even though Pluto is not known to have life, do you think in the future astronomers will find out Pluto has life?
Works cited
NASA. “Pluto”https://science.nasa.gov/dwarf-planets/pluto/ November 19,2024
NASA. “Pluto: Facts” https://science.nasa.gov/dwarf-planets/pluto/facts/ November 19,2024
NASA, “New Horizons” https://science.nasa.gov/mission/new-horizons/ November 19,2024
NASA. “Five Years after New Horizons’ Historic Flyby, Here Are 10 Cool Things We Learned About Pluto” https://www.nasa.gov/solar-system/five-years-after-new-horizons-historic-flyby-here-are-10-cool-things-we-learned-about-pluto/ November 19,2024
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. “What is a Dwarf Planet?” https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/infographics/what-is-a-dwarf-planet/ November 20,2024
NASA. “Space Shorts: What is a Dwarf Planet?” https://science.nasa.gov/resource/space-shorts-what-is-a-dwarf-planet/ November 20, 2024
