Dwarf planets in our solar system

What are dwarf planets?

Dwarf planets are celestial objects that:
• Orbit a star
• Are roughly spherical
• Often have many other large bodies such
as comets, asteroids, or other dwarf planets
near them.
 Why Pluto is Dwarf Planets?
• Pluto was discovered in 1930, that time it was
classified as a regular planet.
• In 2006, pluto was categorized as a “dwarf
planet”.
• Because of the last rule of what could be
called a planet?
• Pluto, asteroids and Moons cannot be called
planets.
 Eris
• Located beyond the orbit of Neptune.
• Eris completes one trip around the Sun every
557 years.
• It is slightly smaller than Pluto but actually
contains more mass.
• The discovery of this denser dwarf planet is
in 2005. 
 Ceres

• Ceres is the largest object in the asteroid belt

between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
• Its near-spherical shape means that this rocky,
icy body is not considered an asteroid.
• It takes Ceres 4.6 years to complete one trip
around the Sun.
 Makemake

• Makemake was discovered in 2005, just a few

months after Eris was found.
• It is located in the Kuiper Belt, a ring of icy
debris beyond the orbit of Neptune.
• Astronomers say that Makemake is likely
reddish in colour, similar to Pluto.
• Makemake takes over 300 years to complete a
trip around the Sun.
 Haumea

• Haumea was discovered in 2004 in the Kuiper Belt

beyond the orbit of Neptune.
• It takes the dwarf planet 285 Earth years to complete a
trip around the Sun.
• Haumea spins on itself in under four hours.
Astronomers believe that this fast rotation has
deformed Haumea into an ellipsoid (egg-shaped).
• This dwarf planet has two moons: Hi'iaka and Namaka.
• It may even be the only Kuiper Belt object to have its
own ring.