Pluto: The Planet That Was Demoted

Pluto was discovered in 1930 by astronomer Clyde Tombaugh at Lowell Observatory.
For 76 years, it was considered the ninth planet of our solar system.
In 2006, the International Astronomical Union reclassified Pluto as a dwarf planet.
The demotion came after astronomers found similar-sized objects in the Kuiper Belt.
Pluto is only about 1,473 miles wide—smaller than Earth’s Moon.
Its surface is a mix of nitrogen ice, water ice, and frozen methane.
A thin, hazy atmosphere of nitrogen, methane, and carbon monoxide surrounds it.
Pluto has five known moons, with Charon being the largest and closest companion.
NASA’s New Horizons mission in 2015 gave us the first close-up images of Pluto’s heart-shaped feature.
Despite its demotion, Pluto remains one of the most beloved and iconic worlds in the solar system.