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Pluto is the second-largest known dwarf planet in the Solar System (after Eris) and the tenth-largest body observed directly orbiting the Sun. Originally classified as a planet, Pluto is now considered the largest member of a distinct population called the Kuiper belt. Like other members of the Kuiper belt, Pluto is composed primarily of rock and ice and is relatively small: approximately a fifth the mass of the Earth's Moon and a third its volume. It has an eccentric and highly inclined orbit that takes it from 30 to 49 AU (4.4–7.4 billion km) from the Sun. This causes Pluto periodically to come closer to the Sun than Neptune. Previously considered by astronomers to be a planet, in 2006 Pluto has been officially accepted by the International Astronomical Union to be a dwarf planet - this, following a lengthy debate on the formal definition of a planet. (Credit: Wikipedia) |
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