01. We heard that there are more than nine planets. What's the story? (A K2S Question)

From The Space Library

Astronomers Dr. Mike Brown, Chad Trujillo, and David Rabinowitz unknowingly photographed a new planet in October of 2003. However, because it is so far away—over twice as far away as Pluto— and moves so slowly, the planet's motion was not detected until January of 2005. The planet does not yet have a name, but is currently designated as 2003 UB313. The planet, which is larger than Pluto, orbits the Sun in a distant area of our solar system known as the Kuiper Belt. The planet is not the first Kuiper Belt object to be discovered, but its sheer size, in relation to the nine known planets, means that it can only be classified as a planet.

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Answer provided by Robert Peckyno

Question and Answer extracted from the book Kids to Space - by Lonnie Schorer

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