Pluto Isn't A Planet But It Gives Us Clues For How The Solar System Formed
Pluto hasn't been a planet for almost 20 years. In the early 2000s, scientists discovered several objects of a similar size to Pluto. So, during the summer of 2006, members of the International Astronomical Union convened in Prague to reconsider what counts as a planet in our solar system. IAU members decided that there were three criteria to be a planet \u2014 and Pluto didn't meet all of them.
But planetary scientist Wladymir Lyra says that even though it was downgraded to a dwarf planet, Pluto still has much to teach us about planet formation. This episode, he also lays out his case for Pluto \u2014 and many other objects in the solar system \u2014 to be considered a planet.
This episode is part of Short Wave's space camp series about all the weird, wonderful things happening in the universe. Check out the full series.
Questions about the state of our universe or smaller happenings here on planet Earth? Email us at shortwave@npr.org \u2014 we'd love to consider it for a future episode!
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