28
13
Poor Pluto! From 1930 to 2006, scientists thought it was a real,
honest-to-goodness planet. But the more they learned about
far-out objects, the more they wondered about Pluto.
Today, scientists say Pluto is one of five known dwarf planets.
The others are Ceres, Haumea, Makemake, and Eris. Most
scientists think there are at least two hundred more dwarfs yet to
be discovered. Some say there may be as many as two thousand
dwarf planets.
Eris is the largest dwarf planet, and it has one moon. Next
comes Pluto, which has three moons. Haumea has two moons.
But Makemake and Ceres are on their own.
Ceres is a member of the asteroid belt. All the other dwarf
planets orbit beyond Neptune.
Don’t Forget
the Dwarfs!
