At the moment, these so-called Plutoids are mostly known from grainy images and via Earth-based detections of chemicals found on their surfaces. Dwarf planets like Plutoīut the weirdest of these worlds sit far from the Sun in the Kuiper Belt and share basic properties with Pluto. In contrast, a dwarf planet like Ceres orbits in the asteroid belt. What is a dwarf planet? According to the IAU, a dwarf planet is a world orbiting the Sun that’s big enough for its gravity to make round, but may “orbit in a zone that has many other objects in it.” For example, while planets like Earth are occasionally hit by space rocks, they’ve largely swept the debris out of their orbits. But astronomers keep finding new dwarf planet candidates every year. So far, the International Astronomical Union, the astronomy world’s official record keeper, recognizes just five dwarf planets: Ceres, Eris, Haumea, Makemake, and Pluto.
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