Pluto is the second smallest dwarf planet in the Solar System. Pluto was originally classified as a major planet but as the years passed, Pluto was then considered as one of the largest members of the distinct dwarf planets called the Kuiper Belt. The Kuiper Belt is the home of the distinct and small planets. This belt is composed basically of metal and rocks and it is composed largely of ammonia, methane and water. Pluto is no longer considered a member of the planets in our Solar System.

But first, we must know how Pluto has been discovered, right? It started during the mid 1900’s at the Lowell Observatory located in Flagstaff, Arizona. When several observations were found where they monitored, there was another planet that is disturbing the orbit of Uranus. Then after a thorough study and research, they concluded that there is another planet around Uranus and Neptune. Pluto was named first as “Planet X” by the observers. Also, around the world many people suggested names such as Minerva, Hades, Cronus and Pluto. On May 1, 1930, Pluto was voted as the top choice of the people which came from an eleven-year old girl named Venetia Burney from Oxford, England. The mass and size of the Pluto is 0.66 percent of Earth’s size, which initially made it as one of the smallest planet on the orbit. Pluto’s atmosphere is composed of a thin cover of methane, carbon monoxide and nitrogen that is derived from the ice of the planet’s surfaces. Pluto’s orbit is remarkably different compared to the other planets because it is highly inclined and has eccentric orbit. Pluto has three known moons. One of them is Charon, a moon that astronomers called as the double planet of Pluto because it has relatively the same size and same face as Pluto. The other two moons of Pluto are Hydra and Nix. There are three possible structures of Pluto such as the first layer, which is the frozen nitrogen; the second layer is water ice and the third layer is composed of silicate and water ice.

Several researches and studies have been made by the astronomers and they recommended to re-classifying the status of Pluto as only a minor planet not a major planet for the reason that it is so small and it fails to have dominant gravitational influences. This is why they opted to classify this planet as a dwarf planet and group it into the Kuiper Belt. There are several debates and controversies, which ignited the re-classifying of Pluto as not included in the group of the nine major planets in our solar system. Some suggested that it should not be re-classified because for the past 75 years, Pluto was well-known all over the world as the ninth planet and it was hard to change what has been written on the text books and science histories. Venetia Burney-Phair who is already 89 years old had been interviewed months after re-classifying Pluto as only a minor planet. She thinks Pluto should remain as a member of the major planets.

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