Som ET - 35 - Universe - Pluto - Video 3

Pluto was discovered in 1930 by Clyde W. Tombaugh, the first object in the Kuiper belt. It was immediately hailed as the ninth planet, but it was always the odd object out,  and its planetary status was questioned when it was found to be much smaller than expected. These doubts increased following the discovery of additional objects in the Kuiper belt starting in the 1990s, and particularly the more massive scattered disk object Eris in 2005. In 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) formally redefined the term planet to exclude dwarf planets such as Pluto. Many planetary astronomers, however, continue to consider Pluto and other dwarf planets to be planets.

Audio: Som ET - 35 - Universe

NASA Images:
https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpegMod/PIA19964_modest.jpg
https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpegMod/PIA19952_modest.jpg
https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpegMod/PIA19968_modest.jpg

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute and ESA

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