Remember Pluto? It used to be a planet. Pluto was discovered back in 1930 and was considered to be the 9th planet for many years until 2006 when it was reclassified as a dwarf planet. It is now officially one of five dwarf planets along with Ceres, Haumea, Makemake, and Eris.
Ten years ago this month (July 2015) the New Horizons spacecraft flew by Pluto and gave us our first close up look at the 9th planet, sorry dwarf planet. Oh, and by the way, nineteen years ago (August 2006), Pluto was officially reclassified as a dwarf planet.
- Monika Luabeya. “10 Years Ago: NASA’s New Horizons Captures Pluto’s Heart.” NASA. July 14, 2025.
- Deborah Byrd. “New Horizons visited Pluto 10 years ago.” EarthSky. July 13, 2025.
- McKenzie Prillaman. “New Horizons visited Pluto 10 years ago. We’re still learning from it.” Science News. July 11, 2025.
- Brian Lada, Accuweather.com. “Pluto photos from NASA’s New Horizons still captivating scientists decade later.” UPI. July 11, 2025.
- Asa Stahl, PhD. “Ten years after Pluto, New Horizons faces a new threat.” The Planetary Society. July 14, 2025.
- “Pluto is demoted.” History.com. June 30, 2022. Updated: May 27, 2025.
- Christopher Klein. “The Rise and Fall of Planet Pluto.” History.com. August 24, 2016. Updated: May 27, 2025
For a more in-depth look at Pluto, see our previous blogs.
- Discovering Pluto. FAS Astronomer Blog. February 2020.
- Pluto and the Outer Solar System. FAS Astronomers Blog. April 2021.
- Reclassifying Pluto. FAS Astronomers Blog. December 2021.
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