Why isn't Pluto a PLANET?

 

Ever since it was found, Pluto was always considered a planet, but in 2006 it was stripped of its ID as a planet and declared a dwarf planet. 

You would probably think this happened because, well, Pluto was too small. That is partially true but it is not the main reason. It was actually because the IAU (International Astronomical Union) made a checklist that every planet needed a 100% score to not be stripped of its ID as a planet. 

These three rules were : 

1. It needs to orbit the Sun. 
2. It needs to be spherical. 
3. Its orbital path must be clear of debris.

Pluto fulfilled the first two rules but not the third one. Now you might be thinking, “Hey, you promised that it was partially because Pluto was too small. Where is that now huh??”

Chill man, I’m getting to that. So you see, Pluto is in the Kuiper Belt, and is 1.3 light hours away from Neptune. (1.3 light-hours is 1.4 billion km). And the Kuiper Belt, as you guessed, is full of debris and other stuffs. So there are two ways to clear the orbit; either you use your mass to push debris out, or you use your gravity to pull debris towards you and absorb it, making yourself bigger. Pluto has two problems : 

1. Pluto is very small, so it doesn’t have a lot of mass OR a powerful gravitational pull. 
2. Even if Pluto was was a bit bigger, he wouldn't be able to clean all the debris.

So, in the end, you gotta cut some slack for the little guy because bro has to clear the entire Kuiper Belt to regain his planet ID, but he is the king of dwarf planets, so hey, I guess life turned out great for lil’ old Pluto.