Dwarf Planets and Other Bodies

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What are the criteria for dwarf planet classification?

Dwarf planets orbit the Sun, have sufficient mass for a nearly round shape, but have not cleared other debris in their orbit.

Name a famous dwarf planet in our Solar System.

Pluto is a famous dwarf planet.

What is the largest dwarf planet in the Solar System?

Eris is the largest known dwarf planet in the Solar System.

What region of space are most dwarf planets found?

Most dwarf planets are found in the Kuiper Belt.

Name another body similar to a planet in the Solar System.

Ceres, located in the asteroid belt, is also considered a dwarf planet.

What is the Kuiper Belt?

The Kuiper Belt is a region beyond Neptune that contains many small icy bodies.

What is an asteroid belt?

The asteroid belt is a region of space located between Mars and Jupiter filled with rocky bodies.

What are asteroids primarily composed of?

Asteroids are primarily composed of rock and metal.

Define a comet.

A comet is a small solar system body that, when passing close to the Sun, heats up and displays a visible coma or tail.

What is notable about the orbit of comets?

Comets often have highly elliptical orbits, which bring them close to the Sun and then far into the outer Solar System.

What is the difference between meteoroids, meteors, and meteorites?

Meteoroids are space debris, meteors are meteoroids that enter Earth's atmosphere, and meteorites are meteors that reach Earth's surface.

What is the Oort Cloud?

The Oort Cloud is a hypothesized shell of icy objects that is believed to exist at the edge of the Solar System.

What causes a comet's tail to form and extend?

A comet's tail forms and extends away from the Sun due to solar radiation heating its icy nucleus.

What defines a planet as opposed to a dwarf planet?

A planet has cleared its orbit of other debris, unlike a dwarf planet.

Which dwarf planet was the first to be visited by a spacecraft?

Pluto was the first dwarf planet visited by the New Horizons spacecraft in 2015.