Dwarf Planets In The Solar System

WHAT ARE DWARF PLANETS?

A dwarf planet is a celestial body that orbits the sun, has enough mass to be nearly round in shape, but has not cleared its orbit of other debris. There are currently five recognized dwarf planets in our solar system: Pluto, Ceres, Eris, Haumea, and Makemake.

Pluto, the most famous of the dwarf planets, was reclassified as such in 2006 after being considered a planet for over 75 years. It is located in the Kuiper Belt, a region of the solar system beyond Neptune that contains many small icy objects. Pluto is smaller than Earth's moon and has a highly elliptical orbit that takes it from 4.4 to 7.4 billion kilometers from the sun.

Ceres, the largest object in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, was the first dwarf planet to be discovered. It is the only dwarf planet located in the inner solar system and is the closest dwarf planet to Earth, with a distance of 413 million kilometers at its closest approach.

Eris is a dwarf planet located in the scattered disc, a region beyond the Kuiper Belt that contains many icy objects with highly eccentric orbits. Eris is about the same size as Pluto and was actually the object that sparked the reclassification of Pluto as a dwarf planet.

Haumea and Makemake are both located in the Kuiper Belt and are similar in size to Pluto. Haumea has an unusual elongated shape and is known for its rapid rotation, which takes just 3.9 hours to complete. Makemake is notable for its lack of moons and its reddish color.

Dwarf planets are interesting objects to study because they offer insights into the formation and evolution of our solar system. They are also important in understanding the composition and distribution of icy objects in our outer solar system. As technology advances, we may discover more dwarf planets in our solar system and beyond.

-Keva