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The Discovery Of Pluto's Planetary Characteristics

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The planet Pluto was first discovered in 1930, by an astronomer name Clyde Tombaugh. At the time it was an incredible discovery and it was named the 9th planet in our solar system. However, as scientists learned more and more about the planet they were less and less sure that it was an actual planet. Nowadays, it is classified as a dwarf planet but, even though most scientists believe otherwise, Pluto is a planet because of all it’s planetary traits. The IAU (International Astronomical Union) has 3 basic criteria for an object to be a planet. “1. The object must orbit the sun. 2. The object must have a spherical shape. This shape must be created and maintained by the object’s own gravitational force. 3. The object must have “cleared the neighborhood”

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