Imagine you're playing with toys in a big room. A planet is like the toy that moves around the room and cleans up after itself, while a dwarf planet is like the toy that moves around but doesn’t clean up. Planets are bigger and do more work, while dwarf planets are smaller and don’t do as much.
Why the Change?
In 2006, scientists decided that Pluto didn’t clean up enough to be called a planet anymore, it was reclassified as a dwarf planet. That means there are now only eight planets in our solar system.
Examples
- Pluto is a dwarf planet because it didn’t clean up its orbit.
- Earth is a planet because it cleaned up its orbital neighborhood long ago.
- A toy that moves around the room and leaves messes behind is like a dwarf planet.
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See also
- What Causes a Planet to Be ‘Alive’ or ‘Dead’?
- How Do Stars Differ from Planets?
- What Makes a Planet 'Gaseous' or 'Solid'?
- What's the Difference Between a Planet and a Dwarf Planet?
- What Makes a Planet Habitable?
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