This children’s article, Is Pluto a planet or not? A kids’ guide to the dwarf planet Pluto, has been written for native English speakers and learners of English as a second or foreign language. It can help children build vocabulary, learn about space, and discover the strange story of Pluto. Written by Mark Pulley, a teacher and writer who creates fun and informative news articles for English learners.
What is Pluto?
Pluto is a dwarf planet that lives in a very distant part of our Solar System. It used to be called the ninth planet, but that changed in 2006. Even though it’s small, cold, and far away, Pluto is still one of the most interesting worlds in our solar system.
Where is it?
Pluto is in the Kuiper Belt, a region full of icy rocks beyond the planet Neptune. That makes it incredibly far from Earth, around 5.9 billion kilometres away!
It takes Pluto 248 Earth years to go around the Sun once. A whole Pluto year is similar to three human lifetimes!
Why isn’t Pluto a planet anymore?
When Pluto was discovered in 1930, it was called a planet. But in 2006, scientists decided to change the rules.
To be a planet, something must:
- Go around the Sun
- Be round (because of its gravity)
- Clear its path in space (push away smaller space rocks)
Pluto does the first two, but it doesn’t do the third; it shares its orbit with other icy objects. So scientists at the International Astronomical Union (IAU) reclassified it as a dwarf planet.
A tiny world with a big heart
Pluto is much smaller than Earth’s Moon. It’s only 2,377 km wide, you could fly across it in a plane in under 6 hours!
Even though it’s small, Pluto has mountains made of ice, an atmosphere, and even snow. It also has a giant heart-shaped area on its surface, which was seen by the New Horizons spacecraft in 2015. Scientists nicknamed it “Pluto’s heart.”
Pluto has five moons. The biggest is called Charon; the other moons are named Styx, Nix, Kerberos, and Hydra, all named after mythological creatures from the underworld.
Article vocabulary list
- Dwarf planet – A small planet-like object that doesn’t meet all the rules to be a real planet
- Orbit – The path something takes around the Sun
- Kuiper Belt – A distant area of space filled with icy rocks and dwarf planets
- Reclassified – Put into a new category
- Atmosphere – A layer of gases around a planet
- Astronomers – Scientists who study space
- Spacecraft – A vehicle that travels in space
- Icy – Covered in ice or made of ice
- Mythological – From old stories and legends
Comprehension questions
Just click the plus (+) to see the answer
1. Where is Pluto located?
A) Inside the Earth’s core
B) In the Kuiper Belt
C) Between Earth and Mars
Answer: B) In the Kuiper Belt
2. How long does it take Pluto to orbit the Sun?
A) 1 Earth year
B) 24 Earth years
C) 248 Earth years
Answer: C) 248 Earth years
3. Why was Pluto reclassified as a dwarf planet?
A) It’s made of gas
B) It doesn’t clear its orbit
C) It’s too close to the Sun
Answer: B) It doesn’t clear its orbit
4. When did Pluto stop being a planet?
A) 1930
B) 2006
C) 2015
Answer: B) 2006
5. What is the name of Pluto’s biggest moon?
A) Styx
B) Charon
C) Hydra
Answer: B) Charon
Mark is a writer and EFL teacher from England with eight years’ experience. He’s passionate about travel, sport (especially football), animals, nature, and history, and enjoys helping children explore the world through language and learning.
