{"id":5483,"date":"2026-10-29T14:13:32","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T08:43:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/horticulture\/?p=5483"},"modified":"2026-11-05T07:17:23","modified_gmt":"2026-11-05T01:47:23","slug":"dwarf-planets-in-our-solar-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/horticulture\/dwarf-planets-in-our-solar-system\/","title":{"rendered":"Dwarf Planets in Our Solar System"},"content":{"rendered":"<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/yCJivfycdE8?si=5ed2rvS505ugsfXC\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To be classified as a dwarf planet by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a celestial body must meet three criteria: it must orbit the Sun, have enough mass to pull itself into a nearly round shape, and <strong>not<\/strong> be a moon. Unlike regular planets, dwarf planets have not &#8220;cleared their neighborhood&#8221; of other debris, meaning they share their orbital zones with similar-sized objects. There are currently <strong>five<\/strong> officially recognized dwarf planets in our solar system:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Five Recognized Dwarf Planets<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><td><strong>Dwarf Planet<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Location<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Notable Feature<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Pluto<\/strong><\/td><td>Kuiper Belt<\/td><td>Reclassified from a major planet in 2006; has a distinct heart-shaped glacier and five moons.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Ceres<\/strong><\/td><td>Asteroid Belt<\/td><td>The closest dwarf planet to Earth and the only one located in the inner solar system. It accounts for a third of the asteroid belt&#8217;s total mass.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Eris<\/strong><\/td><td>Scattered Disc (beyond Kuiper Belt)<\/td><td>Slightly smaller than Pluto but about 27% more massive. Its discovery is what prompted the IAU to create the &#8220;dwarf planet&#8221; category.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Haumea<\/strong><\/td><td>Kuiper Belt<\/td><td>Spins so fast that it is stretched into an elongated, football-like shape. It also has a faint ring system.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Makemake<\/strong><\/td><td>Kuiper Belt<\/td><td>The second-brightest object in the Kuiper Belt (after Pluto) and plays a key role in the history of dwarf planet classification.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dozens of other objects\u2014such as Sedna, Quaoar, Orcus, and Gonggong\u2014are strong candidates for dwarf planet status but are still awaiting official IAU classification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-vivid-purple-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-1 wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>2026 ED138 &#8211; The Latest Candidate!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>2026 ED138<\/strong> is a massive trans-Neptunian object (TNO) located in the Kuiper Belt and a newly identified dwarf planet candidate. Recognized in October 2026 using data from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, it is considered one of the largest and brightest bodies found beyond Neptune in recent years. Key characteristics of 2026 ED138 include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Size:<\/strong> It is estimated to be between 600 and 1,500 kilometers (373 to 972 miles) wide. Depending on its exact measurements, it could be larger than the officially recognized dwarf planet Ceres.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Orbit:<\/strong> The icy world takes roughly 283 years to complete a single orbit around the Sun, roaming between 37.1 and 49 Astronomical Units (AU) away.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Tilted Trajectory:<\/strong> Its orbit is tilted nearly 25 degrees relative to the plane of the Solar System. This unusual inclination is largely why it managed to evade detection for so long, as it spends much of its time outside the standard plane where most planets orbit.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Current Status:<\/strong> While 2026 ED138 is a very strong candidate, it is currently awaiting follow-up infrared observations. Astronomers need these observations to definitively confirm its size and ensure it has enough mass to pull itself into a round shape before the International Astronomical Union (IAU) can officially classify it as a dwarf planet.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Because 2026 ED138 is classified as a classical trans-Neptunian object, IAU naming conventions dictate that it will eventually be given an official mythological name associated with creation myths.<sup><\/sup><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>To be classified as a dwarf planet by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a celestial body must meet three criteria: it must orbit the Sun, have enough mass to pull itself into a nearly round shape, and not be a moon. Unlike regular planets, dwarf planets have not &#8220;cleared their neighborhood&#8221; of other debris, meaning [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5489,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[102],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-astronomy"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Dwarf Planets in Our Solar System - Johnson&#039;s TechNAgro<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/horticulture\/dwarf-planets-in-our-solar-system\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dwarf Planets in Our Solar System - Johnson&#039;s TechNAgro\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"To be classified as a dwarf planet by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a celestial body must meet three criteria: it must orbit the Sun, have enough mass to pull itself into a nearly round shape, and not be a moon. Unlike regular planets, dwarf planets have not &#8220;cleared their neighborhood&#8221; of other debris, meaning [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/horticulture\/dwarf-planets-in-our-solar-system\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Johnson&#039;s TechNAgro\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-10-29T08:43:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-11-05T01:47:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/horticulture\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Dwarf-Planets-in-Our-Solar-System.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1313\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"733\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Johnson Francis\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Johnson Francis\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/horticulture\/dwarf-planets-in-our-solar-system\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/horticulture\/dwarf-planets-in-our-solar-system\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Johnson Francis\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/horticulture\/#\/schema\/person\/c3636df643ae569b05229e17c67a85f1\"},\"headline\":\"Dwarf Planets in Our Solar System\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-10-29T08:43:32+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-11-05T01:47:23+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/horticulture\/dwarf-planets-in-our-solar-system\/\"},\"wordCount\":467,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/horticulture\/#\/schema\/person\/c3636df643ae569b05229e17c67a85f1\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/horticulture\/dwarf-planets-in-our-solar-system\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/horticulture\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Dwarf-Planets-in-Our-Solar-System.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Astronomy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/horticulture\/dwarf-planets-in-our-solar-system\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/horticulture\/dwarf-planets-in-our-solar-system\/\",\"name\":\"Dwarf Planets in Our Solar System - 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