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News imageWitness History, Witness History, When Pluto lost its planet status

Witness History

Witness History

When Pluto lost its planet status


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12 November 2020

10 minutes

Available for over a year

An international committee of astronomers agreed Pluto wasn't really a planet in 2006. They reclassified it as a 'dwarf planet' instead. The decision was made after Mike Brown of the California Institute of Technology identified a larger body, Eris, in the Kuiper Belt. He has been telling Bethan Head about his discovery and the public outcry that followed.

Photo: Dwarf planet Pluto Credit: DottedHippo /Getty Images

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