Name ______________________________

Why is Pluto NOT a planet?

Pluto was discovered in 1930. Prior to discovery, Pluto was called “Planet X.” Once the
existence of Pluto was proven, it was named the 9th planet in our Solar System. In
2006, Pluto was ‘demoted’ to the status of a dwarf planet, but why? There are
several reasons, actually.
Reason 1: In order to be a planet, a nearly spherical object must have gravitational
dominance in its orbit around the sun. What does that mean? Well, consider Charon.
Pluto has five moons, and Charon is the largest. Charon’s diameter is over half that of
Pluto. And it shows. When a planet has ‘gravitational dominance,’ its satellites orbit the
planet, without affecting the overall balance of the planet. This isn’t so with Charon
and Pluto. Because Charon is so large, they more or less orbit each other, and are
sometimes referred to as a ‘double planet.’ To understand this idea, consider the
following: If you were holding a baby in your hands, you could easily rotate in a circle
without the weight of the baby ‘throwing you off track.’ If you held the hands of an
eight year old and spun them around you, you’d need to lean back, and kind of go in
your own small circle as you spun them around off their feet. The fact that the eight
year old is heavier effects how YOU move in order to spin them around. The same is
true with Pluto and Charon. Instead of Pluto spinning a baby, it’s spinning an eight year
old, and the way it moves is effected. This means it does not have gravitational
dominance. It has not ‘cleared’ the path of its orbit. Because of this reason, it does not
meet the definition of a planet. But there is more…
Reason 2: The orbits of Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and
Neptune, are all on the same plane; Pluto’s orbit is on a different plane. What does this
mean? Well, if you were to draw all the orbits on a kitchen table, you could draw the
first eight planets’ orbits all on the table, with the Sun in the center. But Pluto? No.
Pluto’s orbit would come up out of the kitchen table on one side of the Sun, and dip
down under the table on the other side of the Sun. And the Sun is not in the center of
Pluto’s orbit, either. Pluto’s orbit is off center. So much so, in fact, that sometimes
Pluto is closer to the Sun than Neptune.
Reason 3: Pluto does not fit in with the outer planets. The inner planets are small
spheres made mostly of metal with no rings and few or no moons. The outer planets
are large spheres made mostly of gas with many rings and many moons. Pluto is small,
made of metal, has no rings, and only five moons. Poor Pluto. It fits in with the inner
planets more so than it does with the outer planets.
Reason 4: Eris. In 2003, Eris was discovered in the Kuiper Belt. The Kuiper Belt is an
orbit beyond the reach of Neptune, where we have found objects orbiting the sun. Eris
is almost the exact same size as Pluto. So if Pluto is a planet, then really Eris should be
a planet. The discovery of Eris is what prompted scientists to revisit the classification
of Pluto.
copyright©2018CrazyScienceLady
Name ______________________________

Why is Pluto NOT a planet?

For each of the four reasons, draw one picture, label it, and write one sentence that
demonstrates why Pluto is no longer a classified as a planet. copyright©2018CrazyScienceLady

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copyright©2018CrazyScienceLady
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