Pluto and the Dwarf Planets: Chapter 12

Why is Pluto not classified as either a terrestrial or Jovian planet? In other words, how is it different from the 8 major planets?

small, composition (made of mostly ice)

What arguments convinced the astronomical community to reclassify Pluto as a dwarf planet?

they found many other planets like Pluto

What do we think produced Pluto's moons, and why do we sometimes call Pluto and Charon a "double planet"?

tidal locking causes Charon to spin with Pluto, Pluto and Charon they have similar mass

What is the composition of Pluto?

ice

Know that there are several other Kuiper Belt objects that are similar in size to Pluto and at least one (Eris) is bigger. Several of these have moons

know this

Understand how we determined the masses of Pluto and Eris.

gravitational influences on Kuiper belt object allows for the estimation for the Dwarf planet

Where were the Kuiper belt objects formed?

past Neptune’s orbit