Why is pluto not a planet?

Pluto is not considered a planet because of its size, location, and characteristics. In 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) redefined the definition of a planet, and Pluto did not meet the new criteria.

According to the IAU's definition, a planet must meet three criteria:

1. It must orbit the Sun.

2. It must be spherical in shape, meaning it has enough self-gravity to pull itself into a round shape.

3. It must have cleared its orbit, meaning it has become the dominant gravitational force in its orbit and cleared out any other debris.

Pluto meets the first two criteria, but it fails to meet the third one. Its orbit is not entirely clear of other objects, as it shares its orbit with other icy bodies in the Kuiper Belt, a region beyond Neptune that is populated with small, icy objects.

Therefore, Pluto was reclassified as a "dwarf planet" rather than a full-fledged planet. This reclassification was done to better categorize objects in our solar system based on their characteristics and to avoid potentially classifying numerous other similar-sized objects as planets.

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