Bodies that orbit the Sun directly, are massive enough to be rounded by their own gravity, but have not cleared their orbital neighborhood of other debris, the IAU 2006 Resolution B5 category that reclassified Pluto and Ceres. Belongs here: Pluto, Ceres, Eris and the other recognized or candidate dwarf planets. Does not belong here: the eight planets that have cleared their neighborhood, grouped under Planets and the Sun, or smaller irregular bodies not massive enough to be rounded, grouped under Asteroids and Minor Planets or Trans-Neptunian and Outer Solar System Objects.
Facts
Comparison
Field Origin Era Browse By
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Dwarf planet
Wikimedia FoundationDwarf planet, lead sectionQuote, Dwarf planet, lead section
The prototypical dwarf planet is Pluto, which for decades was regarded as a planet before the "dwarf" concept was adopted in 2006.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.