Before 2006, people were certain of the fact that there were nine planets in the solar system, from Mercury all the way to Pluto. However, in 2006, a team of scientists known as the International Astronomical Union (IAU) met in Prague, Czech Republic and made the decision that Pluto should not be considered a planet at all.
Before 2006, people were certain of the fact that there were nine planets in the solar system, from Mercury all the way to Pluto. However, in 2006, a team of scientists known as the International Astronomical Union (IAU) met in Prague, Czech Republic and made the decision that Pluto should not be considered a planet at all
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In 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) redefined the criteria for what constitutes a planet, leading to the reclassification of Pluto as a “dwarf planet.” According to the new definition, a celestial body must meet three criteria to be considered a planet: it must orbit the Sun, be spherical in shape, and have cleared its orbital path of other debris. Pluto fails to meet the third criterion, as it shares its orbital region with other objects in the Kuiper Belt. This decision reduced the number of recognized planets in the solar system from nine to eight.